THB  ORGANIZED 
^SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

AXTELL 


A 

WORKINa 

MANUAIy 

FOR 

OFFICERS 


BV  1505  .Al  A972  1908 

Axtell,  J.  W. 

The  organized  Sunday  school 


The 

Organized  Sunday 

School 

A  Working  Manual  for  Officers 


By 
J.  W.  AXTELI, 

Author  of 
"The Teaching:  Problem,"  "Gradinjf  the  Sun- 
day School,"  "The  Teacher's  Hand- 
book." "The  Superintend- 
ent's Handbook  " 


PHilaaelpKia,  Pa. 

THe  Westminster  Press 

1005 


Copt- 
right 

1902 

BY 

J.  W. 

AXTEIiL 


TABIvi:  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Page. 

Organization 9 

No  Occult  Science— Only  Common  Sense — Seek- 
ing a  Blessing— About  the  Beginning— Division  of 
Labor  —  Seeking  Cooperation  —  Two  Identical 
Rolls— Order  Out  of  Confusion— A  Sharp  School 
Contrast— Organization  Defined. 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Superintendent — His  Prerog-atives  ...  16 
A  Quasi  Subordinate— An  Official  Burden— To 
be  Given  Full  Charge— Appointing  Teachers- 
All  Terms  for  One  Year— Possible  Insubordina- 
tion—An Unwelcome  Dvity- An  Understanding 
Needed— His  Great  Prerogative. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Superintendent— His  Field  Work 22 

Preparation  and  Result— The  Teachers'  Meet- 
ing—The Lesson  only  a  Part — The  Meeting's 
Make-up— An  Enrolled  Class— Teaching  Teach- 
ers—Now for  Business— Some  Live  Topics- 
Time  and  Place— A  Neighborhood  Meeting— The 
Teachers'  Council  —  In  the  Community  —  The 
Stranger  in  Office. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Superintendent — His  Home  Work.  ...  30 
The  Work  Never  Stops— A  Beginning  of  Failure 
—Home  "Work  Possibilities— Preparing  the  Les- 
son—Selecting the  Music— Scripture  Readings- 
Making  Programs— General  Planning— A  Share 
of  the  Best— The  Open  Home— Fruitful  Medita- 
tion. 


4  Contents 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Superintendent — Using  His   Helpers.     38 

Getting  Others  to  Work— Using  the  Pastor— Aid 
from  the  Assistant — Calling  on  the  Secretary — 
Acting   with   the   Treasurer — Leaning   on    the     . 
Teachers— A  General  Search. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The   Superintendent — A  Day  in   the  Sun- 
day School 42 

On  Hand  Betimes— A  Prompt  Sunday  School- 
As  to  the  Beginning— A  Careful  Preparation— An 
Impressive  Result — A  Gratifying  Situation— A 
Place  for  Singing— Have  Plenty  of  Bibles— The 
School's  Text-book— A  Depressing  Exercise— A 
Modern  Plan  Instead— Ready  for  the  Lesson— 
The  Lesson  Recitation— Just  After  the  Lesson— 
The  Place  for  Annotmcements— The  Secretary's 
Report— About  the  Review— Wanted,  Resource- 
fulness—Not in  the  Nursery— What  Shall  the  Re- 
viewer Do  ?  —  Beware  the  Visitor  —  The  Day 
Finished— Coming  Again. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Superintendent — Special  Days 55 

Not  Under  a  Bushel— But  on  a  Candlestick- 
Useful  Ends  Served— Every  Sunday  Special— 
The  Special  Day  Defined— The  Communion  Day— 
DevelopingWorkers— A  void  Elaboration— Ready- 
made  Programs  —  Flexibility  of  Program— A 
Maximum  and  a  Minimum— Use  Sunday  School 
Talent— A  Single  Aim  in  View— Some  Special 
Evenings. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Superintendent — Addenda 64 

Women  as  Superintendents —The  Superintend- 
ent's Record— Ready  and  to  Spare— The  Passing 
of  the  Bell— Silence  is  Golden— Do  Not  "  Meekly 
Wait  "—The  End  of  the  Work. 


Contents 


chapte;r  IX. 


The  Assistant  Superintendent 68 

His  Work  Partly  Outlined— Securing  Substitutes 
—  Welcoming  the  Stranger  —  Distributing  the 
Tools— The  Number  of  Apsistants— Both  Sexes 
Needed— Selecting  the  Helpers. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Sunday  School  Music   and  Its  Makers 73 

Bible  First,  Music  Next— The  Aid  of  the  Instru- 
ment—The School's  Own  Music— Have  Plenty  of 
Books— Whether  People  Sing  or  Not— The  Best 
Type  of  Leader— Meaningless  Music— The  Adap- 
tation of  Music— The  Rendering  of  Music— The 
Teacher  and  the  Singing— A  Volunteer  Song 
Day— Song  in  Bible  Readings— What  Does  a  Song 
Mean  ?— The  Precentor's  Work— The  Organist  or 
Pianist. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Secretary 82 

An  Important  Officer— The  School  Leans  on  Him 
—Guiding  the  Teachers— Tracking  up  a  Pupil— 
The  Bad  "Good  Record  "—Remedying  an  Evil— 
An  Up-to-date  Class-book— The  Scholar-bringer 
on  Duty— A  Graphic  Picture— Figure  1— A  Much 
Better  Way— Figure  2— Caring  for  the  Absent- 
Finding  a  New  Home. 

CHAPTER   XII. 

The   Treasurer    and    the    Sunday    School 

Finances 90 

Is  a  Treasurer  Needed  ?— An  Educational  Work 
—Two  Objects  in  Finances— The  First  Considera- 
tion—Now Take  Care  of  Yourself —In  the  Church 
Report— A  Misplaced  Burden — Every  One  to  Con- 
tribute—The Only  Right  Way— This  Way  Lies 
Success— No  Embarrassing  Publicity. 


6  Contents. 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Sunday  School  L<ibrary 98 

An  Average  Impression— The  Objects  of  a  Li- 
brary—Let the  Order  be  Reversed— Give  Promi- 
nence to  Biography— A  place  for  History— The 
Demand  for  Fiction — A  Grave  Danger — Popular 
and  Demoralizing  —  The  Goody-Goody  —  Take 
Nothing  for  Granted  —  Religious  Literature- 
Teachers'  Reading  Course. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
The  Ivibrarian lOS 

A  Thoughtless  Selection  —  Serious  Mismanage- 
ment—Knowledge Necessary— A  Choice  OflB.cer 
Needed— Some  very  Hard  Work— The  Librarian 
on  Duty— Before  the  School— The  Library  Bul- 
letin. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Home  Department 110 

A  Good  Thing  or  a  Bad  Thing— Too  Much  is  Ex- 
pected—The People  to  be  Reached— Those  Who 
Are  Shut  In— Those  Who  Are  Shut  Out— Some 
Active  Shut-outs— A  Potent  Obstacle  Remover— 
A  Blessing  or  Otherwise— A  Place  for  Hide- 
Behinds— An  Annex,  not  an  Institution— Home 
Department  Weaknesses— A  Great  Good,  Never- 
theless-Strong Points  Enumerated  — How  to 
Make  it  Effective — Some  Onerous  Duties  Ahead 
— Regular  Meetings  Necessary— Restoring  Old 
Connections— Take  Time  to  be  Right. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

About  the  Country  Sunday  School 120 

Not  Feasible  in  the  Country— The  Modern  Build- 
ing—Difficulty of  Access— Winter  and  Summer 
Suspension— Meeting  Financial  Needs— Lacking 
Neighborhood  Stimulus— Special  Rural  Advan- 
tages—The Weekly  Gathering— Attention  Less 
Distracted— Very  Much  Alike,  After  All— The 
People,  not  the  Place— What  Lies  Back  of  it  All. 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

And  Finally 127 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  little  book  is  meant  to  be  intensely  prac- 
tical and  wholly  practicable.  It  is  right  out  of 
the  Sunday  school  work-shop,  and  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  transcript  of  an  active  and  varied 
Sunday  school  experience.  It  is  written  upon 
request,  and  with  the  hope  that  it  may  be  widely 
usable  and  profitably  used.  There  is  not  in 
it   all  an  atom  of  untested  theory. 

The  Sunday  school  now  has  a  rich  and  com- 
prehensive literature  distinctly  its  own,  and  the 
apology  for  this  addition  to  it  is  that  the  busy 
Sunday  school  officer,  whose  reading  must  be 
condensed  into  scattered  minutes,  is  often  some- 
what at  a  loss,  amid  the  countless  rich  sugges- 
tions presented,  to  place  his  hand  quickly  upon 
something    clearly    and    immediately    available. 

But  little  will  be  said  in  these  pages  about 
what  the  Sunday  school  officer  should  be.  This 
ground  has  been  fully  covered  by  scores  of  pens. 
There  is  no  need  at  this  day  to  say  of  him, 
let  his  relation  to  the  Sunday  school  be  what 
it  may,  that  he  should  be  consecrated,  as  well 
informed  as  may  be,  and  wholly  devoted  to  his 
work.  These  are  undebatable  propositions. 
What  he  should  do,  and  how  he  should  do  it, 
will  be  the  burden  of  this  message ;  and  if  in 
some  measure  the  needs  of  a  fellow  worker  here 
and  there  should  thus  be  met,  it  will  be  a  richly 
requited  labor  of  love.  The  Author. 

Nashville,  Tenn, 


The  Organized  Simdav  SchcoL 


CHAPTER  I. 


ORGANIZATION. 


Before  taking  up  the  work  and  duties  of  Sun- 
day school  officers  in  detail  we  must  first  briefly 
consider  some  conditions  and  principles  con- 
nected with  the  institution  for  whose  character 
and  usefulness  these  officers  are  to  be  so  largely 
held  responsible. 

People  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  successful 
Sunda}^  school  management  as  though  it  were 
a  great  mystery — an  occult  science.  It  is  ap- 
parently    regarded     as     some- 

,,  .  .    .  1  No  Occult 

thmg    requirmg    unusual    con-  _  . 

ditions  and  exceptional  official 
personnel.  This  is  misapprehension  pure  and 
simple.  Sunday  school  management  is  none  of 
these  things.  The  misapprehension  grows  out 
of  an  overestimate  of  what  really  constitutes 
success,  an  underestimate  of  the  ability  of  avail- 
able people  to  achieve  it,  and  a  misconception  of 
the  kind  of  work  of  which  it  is  born.  Success 
is  necessarily  relative,  but  a  measure  of  it  which 
will  justify  well-considered,  persistent,  prayerful 
effort  is  as  sure  as  He  for  whom  we  work  is 
sure.  Besides,  success  may  be  real  without  be- 
ing apparent. 


lo  The  Organized 

Men    are    undertaking    ten    thousand    different 

kinds   of   work   every   day,   and   in   each   kind   of 

work  certain  principles  are  regarded  as  applicable 

and     necessary.        Success     is 

Only  Common  •       j  i^         ^i  • 

g  recognized    as    altogether    im- 

probable, if  not  impossible, 
where  these  principles  are  ignored  or  only  in- 
differently applied.  The  world  has  given  a 
most  happy  name  to  the  science  of  doing  all 
things  well,  and  that  science  is  known  as  com- 
mon sense.  The  trouble  with  much  of  our  Sun- 
day school  management  is  that  there  is  too  little 
of  common  sense  in  it.  We  are  apt  to  forget 
about  practical  things  and  practical  standards 
when  we  assume  its  responsibilities.  We  try 
to  achieve  results  without  establishing  the  con- 
ditions which  would  naturally  lead  to  results — 
and  the  outcome  is  unsatisfactory.  In  the  nature 
of  the  case  the  outcome  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  unsatisfactory ;  and  in  no  other  work  simi- 
larly directed  and  prosecuted  would  we  be  so 
presumptuous  as  to  expect  to  get  even  within 
the   shadow   of  a   special   success. 

"But,"   says   some  one,   "the   Sunday   school   is 

the   Lord's   work,   and   he   will   take   care   of   it." 

Certainly,   he  will   take  just   as   good   care   of   it 

as  we  will  make  it  possible  for 

ee  mg  a  j^j^   ^^   take;   but   he  will   not 

Blessmg.  ' 

reward     conspicuous     laziness 

on  the  part  of  leaders,  any  more  than  he  will 
reward  manifest  and  persistent  indifference  on 
the  part  of  the  church  membership.  He  will  not 
substitute   anything   for    official    listlessness.     He 


Sunday  School  ii 

will  not  make  our  lack  of  method  and  system 
accomplish  what  method  and  system  alone,  even 
with  his  blessing,  can  be  made  to  accomplish. 
His  blessing  awaits  the  manifestation  of  dili- 
gence in  business — his  business — the  King's 
business.  We  are  especially  blessed  in  what  we 
are  and  in  what  we  do  when  we  establish  the 
conditions  which  make  such  blessing  possible. 

The   foundation   of  good   Sunday   school   man- 
agement lies   in  thorough   organization,   and  this 
in    turn    begins    with    the    office-creating    power. 
The    school    must   be   officered 
with  the  very  best  material  at  ^^°"*  *^^ 

.  ,  Beginning. 

hand,  just  as  it  must  be 
equipped  with  teachers  on  the  same  principle. 
This  is  no  place  for  the  exercise  of  favoritism, 
or,  equally  bad,  a  yielding  to  sentiment.  It  is 
a  place  for  the  highest  courage.  It  is  frequently 
a  seemingly  delicate  matter  to  set  aside  one 
individual  and  select  another  for  a  responsible 
office,  but  it  must  be  done  if  the  work  is  not  to 
suffer.  It  is  a  mistake  to  allow  any  consideration 
except  the  good  of  the  school  to  rule  in  the 
premises ;  yea,  it  is  more  than  a  mistake — it  is 
a  crime  against  the  school.  Sunday  school  failure 
is  due  as  largely  to  an  undue  yielding  to  senti- 
ment as  to  any  other  cause. 

The  officers  having  been  chosen,  the  same  prin- 
ciple holds  good  in  their  sub-appointments  and 
in  the  division  of  the  work  of  the  school  in 
their  hands.  This  point  will  be  more  fully 
brought  out  in  the  discussion  of  the  personal 
and    official    work   of   the   officers.      Suffice    it   to 


12  The  Organized 

say  just   here  that   a  prindple  highly  promotive 
of   effective   organization   is  the   widest   distribu- 
tion   of    minor    responsibilities    compatible    with 
efficient     service.       The     plans 
Division  jjj  organization   should  consist 

largely  in  getting  the  people 
into  responsible  relation  to  the  school,  rather 
than  in  manifestly  "running"  the  institution  with 
the   people  as   spectators.. 

Popular    cooperation    is    indispensable — it    sim- 
ply must  be  secured.     If  one  plan  for  securing 
it    fails,    another    must    be   tried — and    another — 
and    another — until    the    prob- 
eeking  ^^^    j^    solved,    as    it    may   be 

Co-operation.  .  ... 

m  a  great  majority  of  cases.   A 

Sunday  school  is  often  started  as  a  one-man 
affair,  a  kind  of  start  which  is  likely  to  leave 
it  little  more  than  a  one-man  affair  throughout 
its  history.  The  two  or  three  individuals  who 
so  often  arrogate  to  themselves  the  right  to 
direct  and  shape  the  policy  and  work  of  the 
Sunday  school  in  the  community  are  apt,  by 
their  assumption  of  that  prerogative,  to  alienate 
many  good  people  who  would  otherwise  fall  in 
line  for  the  best  of  work. 

It  should  ever  be  kept  in  mind  that  a  special 
Sunday  school  success  is  only  possible  when  the 
greatest  number  of  individuals  naturally  tribu- 
tary to  the  school  feel  that  they  are  in  some 
degree  standing  sponsors  for  it.  There  are  a 
great  many  good  people  who,  although  they  may 
have  nothing  of  themselves  to  suggest,  will  re- 
sent   all    efforts   to    interest    them    in    something 


Sunday  School  13 

about  which  they  have  iu  nO  way  been  consulted; 
while  they  would  heartily  support  that  which 
they  have  been  asked  to  assist  in  organizing. 
Sunday  school  organizers  blunder  when  they 
forget  or  ignore  those  from  whom  substantial 
aid  may  thus  be  secured. 

There   is   just    one    way   of   organizing   a   per- 
manently   influential    and    widely    useful    Sunday 
school.      A    temporary    or    limited    success    may 
be  achieved  by  other  means — 
a   success   contingent   upon   an       Two  identical 

,.    •  ,      1  ,  ,.        Rolls. 

individual  or  two,  each  of 
whom  is  a  bundle  of  energy  and  consecration. 
A  mere  shifting  aggregation,  though,  depending 
upon  the  enterprise  or  faithfulness  of  a  single 
worker,  or  a  few  workers,  is  not  a  good  Sunday 
school,  A  school  so  organized  is  likely  to  be  a 
power  to-day,  and  to  be  forgotten  to-morrow. 
That  school  only  is  well  and  properly  organized 
which  has,  not  only  upon  its  rolls  but  within  its 
classes,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  church  with  which 
it  is  connected.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  dozen 
church  members  out  of  a  total  of  fifty  are  at 
work  in  the  school,  or  a  total  of  fifty  out  of 
two  hundred — though  these  are  not  unusual 
averages  in  Sunday  schools  as  we  find  them. 
The  making  of  the  church  roll  and  the  Sunday 
school  roll  so  nearly  identical  that  the  latter 
shall  practically  embrace  the  former  is  the  first 
condition  of  the  very  best  type  of  school.  The 
writer  has  seen  this  result  secured  under  most 
adverse  conditions,  and  believes  it  possible  in  a 
majority  of  Instances   as  a   consequence  of  per- 


14  The  Organized 

sistent  and  untiring  effort.  Such  an  end  is  cer- 
tainly worth  almost  any  personal  or  congrega- 
tional labor  and  sacrifice  necessary  for  its  achieve- 
ment. 

A   crying   need   of   all    our    Sunday   schools   is 

better    organization.      The    loosely    formed,    un- 

assimilated    collections    of    good    Sunday    school 

people  found  in  so  many  places 

Order  out  of  j     ^        i_  j  •    , 

^     -.    .  need    to    be    made    over    mto 

Confusion. 

well  organized  bodies.  The 
very  men  who  conduct  great  business  enterprises 
admirably  often  manage  Sunday  schools  miser- 
ably— because  the  one  kind  of  institution  is  or- 
ganized for  positive  results,  while  the  other  is 
usually  thrown  together  for  whatever  may  result. 
A  school  of  fifty  members  in  one  neighborhood, 
working  together  on  well-considered  plans,  will 
accomplish  several  times  as  much  as  another 
school  of  twice  the  size,  similarly  located,  but 
lacking  organization  and  singleness  of  purpose. 
How  the  Sunday  school  suffers  by  comparison 
with  the  secular  schools  in  these  particulars ! 
Granting  that  the  latter  type  of  school  is  in 
most  places  an  unrealizable  ideal  for  the  Sun- 
day school,  a  much  closer  approximation  to  it 
is  nevertheless  everywhere  practicable. 

Organization   establishes   and   locates   responsi- 
bility, and  lack  of  responsibility  is  the  prevalent 
characteristic  weakness  of  our 

A  Sharp  School       5^^^^^  j^^^j      ^    ^^^^^        q^_ 

Contrast.  .      -.  "' 

ganization  works  by  and  to 
positive  standards.  How  badly  the  Sunday  school 
needs  to  have  its  aims  focused  and  its  standards 


Sunday  School  15 

held  inviolable !  Organization  secures  thorough- 
ness, discipline,  promptness.  To  what  an  extent 
are  these  essentials  to  good  work  ignored  in  the 
representative  Sunday  school ! 

But  we  must  not  mistake  the  meaning  of  or- 
ganization.    It  is  not  merely  the  naming  of  cer- 
tain   individuals    for    certain    responsibilities,    to 
be  discharged  in  a  perfunctory 
manner,    let    that    manner    be        organization 

r  11  r  T  Denned. 

ever  so  formally  perfect.  In 
the  Sunday  school  it  is  much  more  than  the  adop- 
tion of  working  rules,  with  an  expressed  or  im- 
plied declaration  of  purposes,  and  the  election 
of  officers  to  be  guided  by  the  one  in  working 
out  the  other.  These  are  simply  rudimentary — 
only  the  husks  in  which  a  ripe  kernel  should 
be  found.  Organization  is  life  and  activity.  It 
is  union.  It  is  strength.  It  is  soul  and  sense. 
It  is  the  touching  of  elbows  and  the  joining  of 
hands  in  forward  movement.  It  is  the  heart- 
throb which  moves  the  multitude  as  one  indi- 
vidual. It  is  the  vital  chord  which  unites  in  an 
indescribable  sympathy  the  superintendent  at  his 
desk,  the  restless  boy  on  the  distant  chair,  and 
the  teacher  bending  her  head  into  the  circle  of 
little  heads  gathered  around  her — making  a  sym- 
metrical power  of  the  whole. 


i6  Th:^  Organized 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    SUPERINTENDENT — HIS    PREROGATIVES. 

While    he    is    the    chief   officer    in   the    Sunday 
school,    the    superintendent    is    naturally,  amen- 
able  to   the    power    which    placed    him    in    office, 
whether    it    be    the    assembled 
A  Quasi  members     of     the     church     to 

Subordinate.  i     ,     , 

which  the  school  belongs,  or 
an  official  board  of  the  church.  He  is  also  in 
a  sense  second  in  command  in  the  Sunday  school, 
the  pastor  being  the  chief  officer  of  the  church 
in  all  its  departments  of  work.  He  is  a  subor- 
dinate more  in  name,  though,  than  in  fact,  as  his 
work  is  of  a  character  which  necessarily  renders 
his  plans  operative  and  his  decision  final  in 
nearly  everything  connected  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  school. 

The  superintendent's  position  is  one  whose 
responsibilities  are  divisible  to  only  a  limited  ex- 
tent.    After  he  has  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of 

his     associate     officers     every 
An  Official  burden    which    can    with    pro- 

Burden.  ,  .  ,    -  ,  . 

priety  be  transferred  from  his 

own,  there  remains,  essentially  and  unavoida- 
bly, a  responsibility  which  attaches  to  no  other 
lay  officer  in  the  church.     This  being  true,  his 


Sunday  School  17 

prerogatives  should  be  commensurate  with  the 
burden  which  he  must  carry.  That  is  to  say, 
having  been  chosen  to  direct  the  school,  he 
should  be  allowed  (except  under  conditions 
rarely  known)  without  official  interference  to 
direct  it.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  he  must 
give  much  more  study  to  Sunday  school  needs 
than  can  be  given  by  an3^body  else  in  the  church, 
and  possibly  as  much  as  is  given  by  all  others 
in  the  church  put  together.  It  follows  that  he 
has  a  more  comprehensive  view  of  these  needs 
than  anybody  else  can  have.  Besides,  he  is 
called  up  to  the  bar  of  the  church  annually  to 
give  an  account  of  his  stewardship — not  leaving 
his  mistakes,  like  those  of  other  church  officers 
in  many  instances,  to  be  rectified  at  death  if 
rectified  at  all. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  earnest,  self- 
respecting  man  must  be  given  practically  full 
charge  of  that  for  which  as  an  individual  he  is 
held  responsible.    It  should  be 

for    him    to    lead    and    direct,        3°,!''l?'''^" 
,      .  ,       .  „  Full  Charge. 

and  to  decide  m  all  matters 
not  involving  a  radical  change  of  policy.  The 
thoughtful  pastor  is  always  glad  to  leave  a 
worthy  man  thus  untrammeled.  If  a  superin- 
tendent is  to  do  his  best  he  must  be  given  an 
opportunity  to  do  his  best.  Give  the  right  kind 
of  a  man  this  kind  of  control  of  a  school,  and 
both  he  and  his  charge  will  grow  and  develop 
more  satisfactorily  than  under  any  other  con- 
ditions. Tie  his  hands,  and  surround  him  with 
petty    limitations,    which    altogether    restrict    his 


i8  The  Organized 

freedom   of   action,   and   the   growth   is   unHkely 
to  put  a  strain  upon  these  limits.     The  fact  of 
his    election    to    the    office    is    an    expression    of 
confidence,   and  no  one  in  any   sense  worthy  of 
this  confidence  will  or  can  in  a  single  year  seri- 
ously damage  the  institution  placed  in  his  hands. 
In    several    denominational    organizations    it    is 
designed,    and    sometimes    it    is    stipulated,    that 
the  appointment  of  Sunday  school  teachers  shall 
be  a  prerogative  of  the  church 
Appointing  session.     In  theory  this  is  cor- 

Teachers.  ,        •  i 

rect,  and  with  sessions  as  they 
should  be  the  responsibility  could  not  with  pro- 
priety be  placed  otherwise.  However,  taking  the 
average  session  as  we  find  it,  this  policy  is  im- 
practicable. Under  prevalent  conditions  the  se- 
lection of  teachers  and  their  adjustment  to  the 
classes  cannot  be  cared  for  in  any  other  way  so 
well  as  to  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  superin- 
tendent. This  work  is  almost  sure  to  be  badly 
mixed  if  entrusted  to  a  church  session  or  to  a 
board  of  Sunday  school  officers.  Teachers  whose 
availability  is  under  discussion  are  very  often 
members  of  the  families  of  the  officers  compos- 
ing these  boards,  or  may  be  members  of  boards 
themselves,  thus  complicating  the  situation  and 
rendering  it  almost  impossible  to  avoid  favorit- 
ism or  the  fatal  policy  of  sacrificing  sense  to 
sentiment. 

The  superintendent  as  ordinarily  situated  may 
with  propriety  insist  upon  the  exercise  of  this 
prerogative,  and  in  doing  so  should  hold  firmly 
to   the   idea   that   the  term   of   the   teacher,   like 


Sunday  School  19 

his  own  term,  is  only  for  one  year;  that  the  ex- 
piration  of  the   year,   which   brings   his   own   re- 
election  or    his    relief    from    duty,    brings   to  the 
teacher    the    necessity    of    also 
submitting    to    the    appointing       ^"  '^J^"'^  ^""^ 

One  Year. 

power  the  matter  of  re-ap- 
pointment or  retirement.  There  is  a  kind  of  un- 
written law  in  many  schools  that  the  term  of 
the  teacher,  like  Tennyson's  brook,  may  run  on 
forever,  in  contradistinction  to  the  treatment  ac- 
corded to  every  other  individual  officially  con- 
nected with  the  Sunday  school.  The  discrimina- 
tion practiced  by  Sunday  schools  in  this  par- 
ticular is  wholly  indefensible,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence there  is  almost  invariably  a  much  greater 
need  for  changes  in  teachers  than  in  anything 
else  or  in  all  things  else  combined  which  affect 
the  work  of  the  school. 

Teachers     are     sometimes     almost     and    occa- 
sionally   altogether    insubordinate    in    the    matter 
of    yielding    control    of    classes    to    which    they 
have    become    attached.      The 
position    assumed    by    a    stub-       ^o^^^bie  in- 

,  .  subordination. 

born  teacher  m  a  case  where 
an  honest  superintendent  thinks  a  change  should 
be  made  is  never  tenable.  The  teacher  who  ar- 
rogates to  himself  the  decision  as  to  whether  he 
be  given  charge  of  a  certain  class,  or  whether 
he  should  at  any  given  time  teach  in  the  school 
at  all,  occupies  an  unreasonable  position.  The 
superintendent  in  nearly  every  case  knows  more 
about  the  matter  in  hand  than  the  teacher  can 
know.     The  one  is  on  all  sides  of  the  problem; 


20  Thk  Organized 

the  other  views  it  from  a  single  standpoint.  If 
the  superintendent  should  be  wrong,  the  mis- 
take can  be  rectified  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  teacher's  error,  if  yielded  to,  only  becomes 
the  more  harmful  to  the  school  as  the  years 
go  by. 

It    is    sometimes    very    difficult    to    stand    up 
against  the  pressure  to  continue  inefficient  teach- 
ers in  service.     This  very  difficulty,  though,  may 
safely  be  taken  as  evidence  of 
An  Unwel-  ^^^  ^^^^  ^f  change ;  and  while 

come  Duty.  .  ,     ,         ■, 

It  may  now  and  then  be  neces- 
sary to  temporarily  waive  the  point  at  issue,  op- 
portunities for  elimination  and  substitution  in 
such  cases  frequently  come  unexpectedly,  and 
should  never  be  allowed  to  pass  unimproved. 
The  superintendent  will  find  this  the  most  try- 
ing and  thankless  part  of  his  work,  and  will 
always  incur  more  or  less  risk  of  being  misun- 
derstood in  connection  with  it.  His  duty  is 
clear,  nevertheless. 

In  the  exercise  of  his  prerogatives  the  super- 
intendent must  be  careful  to  assert  himself  only 
so    far    as    the    efficient    discharge    of    his    duties 
may      require.       His      Sunday 

An  Understand-      ^^^^^^       constituents      are      us- 
ing Needed.  ,,  ,  -n-  ^ 

ually  only  too  willmg  to 
accord  to  him  more  rights  than  he  is  disposed 
to  claim,  even  to  the  point  of  allowing  him  to 
carry  a  liberal  measure  of  their  responsibilities 
along  with  his  own.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
relations  of  the  Sunday  school  to  the  superin- 
tendent, and  the  relations  of  the  superintendent 


Sunday  School  21 

to  the  Sunday  school,  are  not  as  a  rule  properly 
understood.  There  is  a  kind  of  notion  prev- 
alent in  many  churches  that  when  one  is 
chosen  to  this  office  it  is  his  business,  in  con- 
junction with  about  enough  adults  to  fill  the 
other  offices  and  furnish  a  corps  of  teachers,  to 
make  the  Sunday  school — instead  of  his  being 
chosen  to  lead  the  entire  church  in  making  and 
maintaining  the  Sunday  school.  The  superin- 
tendent himself,  raised  in  an  atmosphere  of  mis- 
taken notions  about  all  of  these  things,  is  apt 
to  take  it  for  granted  that  he  is  to  be  just  what 
this  narrow  view  of  things  will  make  him,  un- 
supported and  unaided  by  many  of  those  who 
joined  in  pressing  his  work  upon  him. 

Brother,  let  me  urge  you  to  assert  and  main- 
tain as  your  highest  prerogative  the  right  to  call 
for  and  expect  the  fullest  and  freest  cooperation 
of     the     entire     church     com- 
munity   in    whatever    may    be  „  ^     ^^^^ 

,  ,  .        ,  ^     ,  Prerogative. 

undertaken  m  the  name  of  the 
Sunday  school.  The  call  to  leadership  which 
carries  with  it  no  implied  call  to  the  remainder 
of  the  church  membership  to  be  led  has  no 
significance  whatever.  You  are  missing  the  most 
important  part  of  your  commission  when  you 
fail  to  thus  use  it  as  a  rallying-point  in  your 
work. 


22  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    SUPERINTENDENT — HIS     FIELD     WORK. 

The    services    of    Sunday    are,    of    course,    the 
culmination  of  the  week  in  the  labors  of  the  su- 
perintendent.     These    are    what    the   public    sees, 
and   by  these  the  superintend- 
Preparation  ^^^   j^    measured.     This   finish 

and  Result.  ,  ,       ,  .        , 

to   the    week,    however,   is   the 

lightest  part  of  his  official  duties.  Only  the 
thoughtful  know  that  he  has  spent  hours  and 
hours  through  the  week  to  secure  sixty  or  seven- 
ty-five minutes  of  result  on  Sunday.  The  work  of 
one  Sunday  is  barely  completed  when  preparation 
for  the  next  begins.  Indeed,  the  best  type  of 
superintendent  finds  his  weeks  overlapping  each 
other  in  his  preparation,  and  usually  plans  his 
work  so  far  ahead  that  he  would  sometimes  be 
puzzled  to  determine  just  when  any  given  com- 
ing event  first  received  a  measure  of  attention. 
For  want  of  a  better  name  let  us  call  a  part  of 
his  work  outside  of  the  Sunday  school  room  his 
Field  Work — and  to  a  discussion  of  this  the 
next  few  pages  will  be  devoted. 

The  statement  can  be  made  without  hesita- 
tion that  a  prime  necessity  to  good  Sunday  school 
work   is  a  teachers'    meeting.      So   important   is 


Sunday  Schooi.  23 

this    meeting    that    even    if    very    irregular    and 
only  fairly  well  conducted  it  should  by  all  means 
be  sustained.    I  used  to  be  of  a  different  opinion, 
but    am    now    convinced    that 
even  a  poor  teachers'  meeting      ^^®  Teachers' 

,  1  ,,  Meeting. 

is  better  than  none  at  all. 
Without  the  periodical  assembling  of  teachers 
and  officers  for  counsel  even  the  best  of  work 
is  weak  and  lame.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
acting  in  perfect  harmony,  cooperating  intelli- 
gently and  effectively,  with  everybody  keeping 
step  to  the  music  of  Sunday  school  progress,  if 
the  teachers  know  each  other  officially  only  in 
the  recitation  hour. 

The    basal    idea    of    the    teachers'    meeting    is 
gathering    for   the    study    and    discussion    of   the 
coming    lesson.      This,    though,    can    hardly    be 
named  the   paramount   consid- 
eration.       The    study     of     the       The  Lesson 
,     ,  Only  a  Part. 

lesson  may  be  attended  to  at 
home;  indeed,  the  best  study,  and  the  best  re- 
membered results  of  study,  are  connected  with 
the  home.  But  the  other  good  things  belonging 
to  the  teachers'  meeting  are  wholly  lost  without 
that  meeting.  It  may  be  stated  as  a  general  prin- 
ciple that  people  who  are  engaged  in  similar 
work  will  do  that  work  better  and  more  suc- 
cessfully if  they  meet  from  time  to  time  to  con- 
sult about  it  and  discuss  plans  for  its  prosecu- 
tion. Especially  is  this  true  if  their  work  is  in 
connection  with  a  single  institution  of  which 
they  form  a  part  and  in  whose  central  object 
they  are  personally  and  deeply  interested.     This 


24  The  Organized 

is  exactly  the  situation  in  which  teachers  in  the 

Sunday  school  are  placed. 

The   teachers'    meeting    should   include    all    the 

teachers    in    all    departments    of    the    school,    all 

substitute    teachers,    all    the    officers,    the    pastor, 

and  all  members  of  the  school 
The  Meeting's        ^^^       ^^jjj       ^^^^^^^        j^^-^       -^ 

Make-up.  ,,         ,  ... 

naturally    the    supermtendent  s 

class,  and  he  should  have  it  in  charge.  It  is 
better  that  he  teach  the  lesson,  though  this  may 
sometimes  be  better  done  by  the  pastor  or  some 
other  well  qualified  individual.  It  is  preferable 
that  there  be  one  teacher  rather  than  that  the 
lesson  leadership  change  from  meeting  to  meet- 
ing. In  any  case  the  superintendent  should 
preside. 

Those    attending    this    meeting    should    be    en- 
rolled like  any  other  class,  and  the  secretary  of 
the    school    should   keep    a   class-book,    mark   at- 
tendance,  and   look   up   absen- 
An  Enrolled  -^^^    ^^    -^    ^^^    Sunday 

Class.  . 

school       itself.        Let       every 

teacher  understand  that  membership  in  this  class 
is  imperative,  and  that  in  the  reports  of  the 
school  faithfulness  or  negligence  here  will  be 
taken  into  regular  account.  In  short,  hold  out 
the  idea  that  this  must  be  the  best  class — the 
model  class — of  the  school.  Stick  closely  to  this 
plan,  and  results  will  take  care  of  themselves. 

Teachers  should  be  required  to  make  at  least 
some  preparation  on  the  lesson  before  coming 
to  the  meeting,  which  is  no  place  for  the  be- 
ginning  of  lesson    study.     The   teaching   should 


Sunday  SchooIv  25 

consist  of  a  succinct  and  clear  statement  of  the 
points  of  the  lesson,  brought  out  as  far  as  pos- 
sible   by    questions.      There    should    be    no    fine 
elaboration,       and       teachers 
should  be  left  in  the  main  to  Teaching 

,     .  ,      .  ,  Teachers, 

their    own    devices    as    to    the 

use  to  be  made  of  the  points  elicited.  Time 
limits  should  be  placed  on  every  speaker.  Have 
the  participation  as  general  as  possible,  and  aim 
at  cultivating  clearness  and  brevity.  Avoid  the 
introduction  of  indeterminate  questions  and  ram- 
bling discussions  as  you  would  a  pestilence. 
Should  these  in  some  way  creep  in  cut  them 
off  summarily.  Better  kill  such  things  than  kill 
the  meeting — for  one  of  the  two  must  die.  This 
part  of  the  meeting  should  not  ordinarily  cover 
more  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes. 

For  the  business  part  of  the  meeting  the  super- 
intendent   should    always    have    some    topic    or 
topics   ready   for   discussion.     Here   is   the  place 
to  submit  your  plans,  and  these 
are  the  people   to  make  them  „°^   °^ 

.  ,        r    1  Business. 

effective.  Instead  of  harang- 
uing the  school  on  Sunday  morning  concerning 
some  proposed  change  in  the  exercises,  or  some 
new  line  of  work,  thoroughly  indoctrinate  your 
teachers  with  it,  and  have  them  easily  and 
smoothly  swing  their  classes  into  line,  as  they 
in  most  instances  will  succeed  in  doing.  The 
teachers'  meeting  is  a  place  where  many  things 
may  be  well  done  which  undertaken  in  the  Sun- 
day school  hour  are  done  to  little  purpose. 
Here  are  some  topics  which  may  be  introduced 


26  The  Organized 

in  the  teachers'  meeting  to  advantage :     Methods 

of    teaching ;     methods     of     recruiting ;     Sunday 

school    equipment    and    finances ;    Sunday    school 

reviews ;    the   spiritual   welfare 

Some  Live  ^^  ^^^  -j^     ^^^  elevation  of 

Topics.  ,  ,1,  1        , 

the  school  s  standards  of 
work;  good  points  observed  in  other  schools; 
the  weak  points  of  your  own  school ;  how  to 
use  lesson  helps ;  how  to  help  the  poor  in  your 
school  and  in  the  community ;  the  general  in- 
terests of  the  school,  etc.  The  field  is  boundless, 
and  a  good  topic  need  never  be  lacking.  No 
school  can  keep  up  such  a  meeting  for  a  year 
without  feeling  a  new  life-blood  throbbing  through 
its  veins ;  nor  can  the  same  result  be  secured  in 
any  other  way.  It  would  be  better  if  the  entire 
meeting  did  not  occupy  more  than  about  forty 
minutes — although  this  is  a  matter  of  local  con- 
ditions and  preferences. 

As  a  rule  the  teachers'  meeting  is  most  suc- 
cessful when  held  immediately  following  the  mid- 
week  prayer   meeting,   and   at    the   church.     The 

pastor  is  usually  glad  to  short- 
Time  and  ^^  ^1^^  prayer  meeting  a  little, 

and  the  habitual  attendance  of 
many  teachers  at  prayer  meeting  helps  to  solve 
the  problem  of  getting  together  a  full  class  of 
teachers.  It  is  much  more  difficult  to  sustain 
a  meeting  held  on  a  distinct  evening,  although 
this  is  sometimes  done  under  favorable  condi- 
tions. The  country  Sunday  school  meets  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  maintaining  a  regular 
teachers'    meeting,    but    the    ingenuity    of   an    in- 


Sunday  School  27 

dustrious    superintendent    can    usually    in    some 

way  solve  the  problem.     The  superintendent  who 

would  do  the  best  work  cannot  spare  the  meeting, 

even   though    conditions    be   persistently   adverse. 

It   is    sometimes   the   case   in   towns   and    cities 

that   a   number   of   Sunday    schools   can   combine 

for  that  part  of  the  teachers'  meeting  which  is 

connected  with  the  teaching  of 

the  lesson.    The  opportunity  of       f  ^fl^^"'' 
...         .  .  hood  Meeting. 

jommg  m  such  a  meetmg  may, 
in  a  school  here  and  there,  show  the  way  to  a 
superintendent  who  is  unable  to  get  his  teachers 
together  for  lesson  instruction.  Under  these 
circumstances,  though,  a  separate  meeting  should 
be  held  from  time  to  time  for  the  other  purposes 
already   discussed. 

When  the  business  side  of  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing is   unsatisfactory  the  superintendent   can   in- 
stitute to  advantage  a  teachers'  quarterly  council, 
to  be  held  between  the  closing 
Sunday    of    one    quarter    and       The  Teachers' 

.  r-  ,  r  1  Council. 

the  openmg  Sunday  of  the 
next.  This  council  thus  held  can  have  before  it 
the  completed  work  of  one  quarter,  which  may 
be  intelligently  used  in  planning  future  work. 
Even  if  the  teachers'  meeting  be  all  that  can 
reasonably  be  expected  of  it,  this  special  quar- 
terly gathering  will  be  quite  helpful.  It  furnishes 
the  occasion  for  a  detailed  and  careful  review  of 
past  work,  a  matter  which  receives  sufficient 
attention  in  comparatively  few  Sunday  schools. 
The  quarterly  council  may  be  held  at  the  home 
of  the  superintendent  or  some  other  member  of 


28  Thb  Organized 

the  circle,  and  should  be  a  social  as  well  as  a 
business   meeting. 

Another    and    a    very    important    part    of    the 
superintendent's    field    work    is    connected    with 
his  social  and  business  life.     Opportunities  with- 
out number  of  directly  or  in- 

In  the  directly    promoting    his     Sun- 

Community.  ,  ,        ,  ,      ° 

day  school  work  are  met  with 

in  every-day  life  by  the  man  who  has  this  work 
on  his  heart.  This  is  too  apparent  to  need 
explanation.  Of  course  the  Sunday  school  can 
be  brought  to  the  front  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  in  conversation  and  in  business  inter- 
course; but  there  is  much  less  danger  that  the 
"out  of  season"  introduction  will  be  overdone 
than  that  the  "in  season"  will  be  overlooked. 
The  superintendent's  face  should  be  a  familiar 
one  in  the  homes  of  his  teachers  and  fellow- 
officers,  on  whom  he  should  not  hesitate  to  make 
personal  calls  with  Sunday  school  purposes  only 
and  obviously  in  view.  Tactful,  friendly  calls 
upon  private  members  of  the  school  may  also 
be  scheduled  among  the  things*  clearly  belonging 
to  his  field  work. 

From    all    that    has    been    said    it    follows    that 
the  superintendent  should  not  only  be  well  known 
in  the  community  but  that  his  personal  acquaint- 
ance   should    be    at    least    co- 

•^^^^*'^"^^''        extensive    with    the    reach    of 
in  Office. 

the   school.     He   should   know 

on    sight    and    promptly    recognize    every   one    in 

any  way  related  to  his  school,   should  know  the 

parents,  whereabouts  and  surroundings  of  every 


Sunday  Schooi.  29 

new  scholar,  and  should  be  able  to  inject  his 
personality  into  home  circles  everywhere  in  his 
environment.  A  stranger  is  sometimes  chosen 
to  this  office,  and  a  very  trying  and  unsatisfactory 
official  experience  is  pretty  certain  to  follow.  I 
once  undertook  the  work  under  these  conditions, 
and  am  sure  that  circumstances  must  be  peculiar 
which  will  warrant  such  a  choice. 


30  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    SUPERINTENDENT — HIS     HOME    WORK. 

"His  home  work !"  you  say.  "What !  is  there 
no  place  this  man  can  enter  and  leave  his  Sun- 
day school  behind?"     No,  not  until  he  enters  his 

grave.  He'll  get  his  perfect 
The  Work  ^^^^     ^^^^^    ^     ^^^^-j        ^^^^^^     ^^ 

Never  Stops.  ,  .  , 

rests     from     everythmg     else; 

but  until  relieved  by  death  or  the  end  of  his 
term  of  office  there  is  no  time  when  he  can 
fold  up  his  Sunday  school  duties,  label  them 
"Left  until  called  for,"  and  lay  them  aside  for 
an  indefinite  period.  Much  less  can  he  do  this 
at  home,  for  here  is  his  work-shop,  and  here 
the  whole  character  of  his  service  to  the  school 
is  determined.  Many  a  fairly  good  superintend- 
ent does  no  other  part  of  his  work  well  except 
his  home  work.  No  thoroughly  efficient  super- 
intendent can  ignore  this,  even  if  he  be  rarely 
skilled  in  every  other  line  of  Sunday  school 
activity. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  failure  of  many 
a  promising  Sunday  school  begins.  The  super- 
intendent recognizes  no  home  duties  in  connec- 
tion with  his  office,  and  the  school  loses  entirely 
the  good  which  can  come  from  nothing  else 
but  the  proper   discharge  of  these  duties.     Th© 


Sunday  Schooi.  31 

inefficient    incumbent    of   this    office    either    does 
not  know  that  the  Hfe  of  his   school  is  created 
in    his    home,    or    knowing    does    not    care.      In 
either    case   the    result    is    the 
same.     By  the  way,  the  word        ^.^^^^^^^^^ 

,,      .         ;  .    ,  1  of  Failure. 

mcumbent  is  highly  sug- 
gestive in  this  connection.  It  makes  one  think 
of  "recumbent,"  "incumbrance,"  and  words 
equally  depressing.  It  is  suggestive  of  some- 
thing to  be  thrown  off  and  gotten  rid  of.  When 
the  good  time  for  throwing  off  the  "incumbent" 
arrives — and  it,  fortunately  for  the  Sunday 
school,  comes  every  year — it  should  be  made 
the  occasion  for  placing  the  school's  leadership 
in  the  hands  of  some  one  who,  whatever  he  may 
lack,  lives  the  best  part  of  his  Sunday  school 
life  at  home. 

What  shall  the  superintendent  do  at  home? 
Why,  practically  everything  which  contributes  in 
any  marked  sense  to  the  Sunday  school's  suc- 
cess.    His  home  work  is  basal 

J  ^         , .  •  •  Home  Work 

and    constructive,    m   compari-        ^      

•  1         1  •   1     1  •      /-   1 J  1  Possibilities. 

son  with  which  his  field  work, 
as  important  as  it  is,  is  incidental.  Indeed  his 
visible  platform  work,  born  at  his  fireside,  is  in 
a  sense  incidental.  The  name  of  the  things 
which  he  may  do  at  home  for  his  school  is 
legion,  and  cannot  be  catalogued  in  these  con- 
densed pages.  The  mention  of  a  few  of  them, 
however,  will  be  suggestive,  and  the  working 
superintendent  will  find  the  rest  of  them  as  he 
conscientiously  pursues  his  quest. 

First    among   them    is    the   preparation    of   his 


32  Thk  Organized 

lesson.      Everybody    knows    this,    and    everybody 
who    is    at    all    acquainted    with    Sunday    school 
needs  and  proprieties  also  knows  that  this  prepa- 
ration   should    be    most    thor- 

Prepanng  ough  and  most  Comprehensive. 

the  Lesson. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  dwell 

on  this  point.  Pity  the  school  whose  superin- 
tendent comes  up  Sunday  after  Sunday  evidently 
oblivious  of  the  lesson  and  its  bearings,  unable 
to  give  any  helpful  or  suggestive  turn  to  the 
exercises,  and  groping  vainly  from  first  to  last 
for  a  thread  for  which  he  has  made  no  search 
until  the  arrival  of  the  lesson  hour.  Can  any- 
thing short  of  the  superintendent's  absolute  per- 
sonal immorality  be  so  pernicious  and  so  demor- 
alizing in  its  effect  on  the  school?  This  super- 
intendent needs  to  be  inducted  into  home  work. 
It  is  at  home  that  the  good  superintendent 
selects  his  music — and  the  music  of  the  Sunday 
school  should  be  of  the  superintendent's  selection. 
The  chorister  cannot  know 
^^^^ll'""^.  the  thought   of  the  individual 

the  Music.  ,..,.. 

who  IS  to  give  direction  to  the 
exercises  at  every  turn,  nor  is  there  any  one 
with  whom  the  superintendent  can  divide  this 
responsibility.  The  music  should  be  made  a 
part  of  the  lesson,  and  should  be  selected  with 
extreme  care.  The  leader  who  pounces  upon 
his  music  before  the  school  in  a  hit-or-miss  way 
not  only  destroys  the  intended  and  realizable 
effect  of  the  music  but  writes  himself  down  be- 
fore his  own  people  as  among  the  careless  and 
unprepared.     In  the  quiet  of  his  home,  with  the 


Sunday  School  33 

lesson  before  him,  the  superintendent  should 
search  his  song  book  from  cover  to  cover,  listing, 
selecting  and  rejecting  until  there  is  a  ringing 
harmony  of  thought  throughout  the  whole.  His 
selecting  should  even  go  so  far  as  to  discriminate 
between  the  verses  of  a  song,  and  fix  each  selec- 
tion in  its  proper  place.  One  who  has  given  no 
thoughtful  attention  to  the  arrangement  of  Sun- 
day school  music  can  have  no  idea  of  its  pos- 
sibilities in  promoting  the  interest,  education 
and  development  of  the  school.  Taking  hold  of 
this  problem  with  a  determination  to  solve  it, 
the  work  becomes  easy,  fascinating  and  inspiring. 
The  office  of  the  Sunday  school  is  primarily 
to  promote  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
these  should  have  a  much  more  prominent  part 
in  our  school  exercises  than 
is     generally     accorded     them.  Scripture 

X        .  ,         ,  ,  Readings. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the 
school  simply  read  the  lesson  responsively  or  in 
concert,  especially  if  the  reading  is  done  from 
the  quarterly  or  the  lesson  leaf.  With  Bible  in 
hand  each  scholar  should  find  the  place  and  read 
from  the  book.  There  should  also  be  other 
selections,  bearing  on  the  lesson,  both  to  help  in 
the  understanding  of  the  lesson,  and  to  cultivate 
in  the  school  a  knowledge  of  how  to  find  all  the 
books  and  chapters  of  the  Bible.  All  this  is  a 
fine  drill  for  the  school.  The  superintendent 
should  carefully  select  these  readings  at  home. 
He  may  also  post  them  on  the  blackboard  Sun- 
day morning,  or  may  print  them  with  rubber 
letters   on   white  cardboard.     By  providing   each 


34  'The  Organized 

Bible  with  three  long,  slender  cards  for  book- 
marks, and  having  these  cards  respectively  of 
the  three  national  colors — red,  white  and  blue — 
the  members  of  the  school  will  soon  learn  on 
coming  in  to  look  for  the  posted  readings,  mark 
them,  and  be  ready  to  promptly  take  part  in 
the  reading  exercises  at  the  proper  time. 

In    his    home    work-shop    the    superintendent 

should  make  out  all  of  his  programs.      He  has 

or    should    have    here   all    the   materials    and    all 

the   conditions    for    doing   this 

Jf^^^^e  work    to    the    best    advantage. 

Programs.  -^       .  .  . 

It  IS  often  the  case  that  a 
number  of  programs  covering  a  series  of 
connected  lessons  can  thus  be  worked  out  to- 
gether, resulting  in  a  symmetry  for  the  whole 
not  otherwise  obtainable.  It  is  sometimes  well 
worth  while  to  spend  an  entire  evening  if  neces- 
sary in  working  out  the  details  of  a  program 
for  a  single  ordinary  Sunday.  Indeed,  as  far 
as  the  superintendent  is  concerned,  the  regular 
Sunday  service  and  the  special  Sunday  service 
should  share  equally  in  the  matter  of  prepara- 
tion. These  pages  are  written  in  the  firm  con- 
viction that  the  Sunday  school  is  under  any 
circumstances  entitled  to  our  best  and  most 
painstaking   work. 

The  general  planning  for  the  school  must  also 
be  done  at  home.  The  reasons  for  this  are 
obvious.  In  the  quiet  of  the  home,  with  his 
records,  papers  and  facts  at  hand,  the  superin- 
tendent has  his  field  spread  out  before  him  as 
at   no   other   time.     While   he    often    wishes    to 


Sunday  School 


35 


consult  with  his  fellow  officers  and  workers,  he 
needs  to  have  suggestive  lines  of  work  in  mind 
before    such    consultation.      Many    a    school    is 
doing   exceptionally   fine   work 
to-day    because    a    consecrated  General 

Planning. 

superintendent     has     carefully 

mapped  its  campaigns  in  the  privacy  of  his  own 

fireside. 

Right  here  I  wish  to  introduce  with  special 
emphasis  a  point  which  is  too  often  overlooked. 
It  is  that  we  are  prone  to  give  to  tJie  Sunday 
school  only  the  comparatively 
valueless  part  of  our  time.  ^e^  gYs't  °^ 
The  Sunday  school  must  com- 
mand the  same  kind  of  energy  and  devotion  that 
are  given  to  the  most  serious  of  personal  affairs. 
The  school  and  one's  business  must  share  alike 
in  the  best  efforts  which  the  brain  may  put  forth. 
There  must  be  no  more  slighting  of  the  one 
than  of  the  other.  The  school  must  not  be  put 
off,  by  officers,  or  teachers,  or  others  bearing 
a  responsible  relation  to  it,  with  the  leavings  of 
worn-out  hours.  One's  duties  may  and  should 
be  so  planned  that  the  Sunday  school  shall  have 
a  share  of  that  time  when  the  brain  is  the 
freshest  and  the  flow  of  energy  the  strongest. 

Do  you  get  the  full  force  of  this,  brother  super- 
intendent? It  means  that  not  only  your  weary 
evenings,  but  a  fair  share  of  your  vigorous  morn- 
ings, should  be  laid  on  the  altar  of  your  work. 
"But  how  can  I  carry  out  this  idea?"  No  one 
can  tell  you ;  yet  if  determined  upon  its  realiza- 
tion you   will   find  the  way.     When  the  way  is 


36  Thk  Organized 

found,  and  the  full  significance  of  this  infusion 
of  your  most  capable  personality  is  appreciated, 
you  will  wonder  why  you  had  not  thought  of 
it  before. 

If   the    superintendent    is    to    be    a    visitor,    he 

must  also  be  visited.     If  he  would  approach,  he 

must  be  approachable.     His  latch-string  must  be 

out  for  any  one  v^ho  may  wish 

e     pen  ^^  ^^|j  ^^^^  j^jj^    ^^^  ^^  must 

Home.  ,  . 

be    quite    certaii.    to    have    it 

understood  that  his  Sunday  school  people  are 
doubly  welcome.  He  is  always  glad  to  see  his 
pastor,  who  is  his  most  valued  adviser.  His 
fellow  officers,  his  teachers,  his  pupils,  must 
alike  feel  free  to  offer  and  to  seek  counsel.  His 
neighborliness  and  hospitality  are  of  course 
home  work. 

The  crown  of  the  superintendent's  home  work, 

however,    is    meditation.      The    digestive    mental 

process  by  which  his  school  and  all  its  interests 

are   brought    to    pass    and    re- 

«/"i^ "  •  pass    before    him    is    perhaps 

Meditation.  .  i 

productive  of  more  good  to 
his  work  than  all  his  special  activities  put  to- 
gether. The  quiet,  undisturbed,  seemingly  idle 
hour  in  which  his  loved  school  is  the  subject 
of  his  thoughts  is  the  most  fruitful  hour  of  the 
week.  It  is  a  time  of  comparison,  analysis,  sift- 
ing and  weighing ;  a  time  of  profitable  retrospect ; 
a  time  of  taking  stock  of  the  future ;  a  time  when 
a  solution  of  the  trouble  with  that  unruly  class 
over  there  comes  to  him  as  an  inspiration ;  a 
time  when  an  entry  into  some  forbidding  life  is 


Sunday  Schooi.  37 

clearly  opened;  a  time  when  an  insight  into  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  school  is  revealed ; — the 
time  of  all  his  hours  of  service.  Were  the  home 
the  scene  of  nO'  other  part  of  the  superintendent's 
Sunday  school  life  except  his  meditation  on  Sun- 
day school  interests  it  would  still  be  his  most 
important  field  of  work. 


38  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    SUPERINTENDENT — USING    HIS    HELPERS. 

Other  things   being  equal,  that   superintendent 

is    best    who   gets    the    rn.ost    work   out    of   other 

people.     As  far  as  his  duties  are  divisible  they 

should    be    divided.     While   it 

Getting  others      j^   ^^^^    ^^^^   ^^^   greater   part 

to  Work.  .,  -I-   •  r 

of  his  responsibilities  are  of 
such  a  character  that  they  cannot  well  be  shared, 
yet  there  are  many  things  which  others  may 
be  called  upon  to  do,  both  for  their  own  good 
and  to  the  substantial  gain  of  the  school.  The 
creation  of  temporary  duties  in  order  to  furnish 
needed  employment  is  sometimes  advisable,  al- 
though it  should  be  done  with  such  tact  and 
judgment  as  to  create  no  suspicion  that  it  is 
work  purely  for  work's  sake. 

The    pastor    should    not    and    ordinarily    does 
not  need  to  be  called  upon  for  regular  or  special 
work  in  order  to  arouse  his  interest  in  the  Sun- 
day school.     The  superintend- 
Paltor*''^  ent  finds,  though,  that  no  one 

can  help  him  in  an  all-around 
way  so  well  as  his  pastor,  and  for  this  reason 
is  fain  to  ask  his  help  perhaps  oftener  than 
he  should.  The  pastor  should  not  be  asked  to 
teach  a  class  except  in  a  special  dearth  of  teacher 


Sunday  Schooi,  39 

material,  but  is  naturally  the  Instructor  of  the 
teachers'  meeting  when  the  superintendent  is 
not  in  position  to  discharge  that  duty.  It  is 
better  to  hold  the  pastor  as  an  emergency  helper 
than  to  appeal  to  him  for  regular  service. 

The  assistant  superintendent  is  often  a  figure- 
head in  the  organization,  through  the   failure  of 
the  superintendent  to  allow  him  to  do  the  things 
naturally      attaching      to      his 
position.     The  assistant  should        /    f°^ 

,  the  Assistant. 

have  some  part  as  often  as 
practicable  in  the  exercises  of  Sunday.  It  can- 
not well  be  the  leading  part  except  when  the 
entire  day  is  placed  in  his  charge,  as  there 
cannot  be  two  "lesson  leaders  for  the  school  in 
a  single  service  any  more  than  there  can  be 
two  teachers  of  the  lesson  to  the  class  at  the 
same  time.  Full  leadership  may,  with  propriety, 
be  given  to  the  assistant  for  an  occasional  Sun- 
day in  training  him  for  the  emergencies  which 
may  call  the  superintendent  away  from  his  desk 
from  time  to  time.  On  almost  any  Sunday, 
though,  the  assistant  may  in  a  minor  part  help 
materially  in  the  service.  As  a  counselor  the 
superintendent    should    freely    use    this    officer. 

The    secretary,    operating    in    a    different    field, 
bears  an  equally  important  relation  to  the  super- 
intendent, who  cannot  conduct 
th..   affairs   of   the    school    in-      ^;l''ZZ.ry. 
telligently  unless  he  is  in  close 
touch  with  that  officer,   and  thoroughly   familiar 
with  the  class  rolls  and  the  statistics  which  arc 
being  gathered  from  week  to  week.     The  super- 


40  The  Organized 

intendent  should  himself  be  something  of  a 
statistician,  but  not  in  such  a  way  as  to  trench 
upon  the  prerogatives  or  minimize  the  office  of 
the  secretary.  As  an  adviser  the  secretary  is  a 
most  important  member  of  the  school's  cabinet. 
The  treasurer  is  sometimes  also  the  secretary, 
and  in  a  small  school  the  combination  of  these 
offices  is  often  advisable.     But  a  growing  school 

should  have  growing  finances. 
Acting  with  ^^^  ^-^^  superintendent  should 

advise  frequently  with  the 
financial  officer.  The  superintendent  is  usually 
the  broader  man  of  the  two  in  business  experi- 
ence, but  in  infusing  his  plans  into  the  handling 
of  the  school's  income  he  should  if  possible  see 
that  the  treasurer  comes  in  for  the  fullest  credit 
that  can  be  given  him  under  the  circumstances. 
The  same  principle  will  apply  to  the  relation 
of  the  superintendent  to  the  librarian,  the  choris- 
ter, the  pianist,  and  other  officers  of  the  school. 
It  has  already  been  said  in  discussing  the 
teachers'  meeting  that  the  superintendent  should 
make  that  meeting  the  occasion  of  placing  in  the 

hands  of  the  teachers  as  far  as 
Leaning  on  practicable    the     carrying    out 

the  Teachers.  .      ,  ,  .   ,     , 

of  changes  which  he  proposes 

to  introduce  into  the  general  work  of  the  school. 
He  should  clearly  impress  the  idea  that  the 
teacher  bears  to  the  individual  class  something 
of  the  same  relation  which  the  superintendent 
bears  to  the  entire  school.  He  should  expect 
the  teachers  to  stand  officially  between  him  and 
the   classes;   to  preserve   order  among  those   in 


Sunday  Schooi^  41 

their  charge,  preventing  the  necessity,  except  in 
extreme  cases,  of  his  giving  any  pubHc  attention 
to  the  subject;  and  to  report  to  him  privately 
an3^  class  matters  calling  for  his  personal  cogni- 
zance. Teachers  as  a  rule  need  nothing  so  much 
as  a  more  pronounced  realization  of  personal 
responsibility  for  their  work,  and  the  superintend- 
ent may  do  much  tov/ard  increasing  this  realiza- 
tion. In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  superintend- 
ent may  and  should  lean  much  harder  upon  his 
teachers  than  upon  his  fellow  officers,  because 
of  the  closer  relation  of  the  teachers  to  the  work 
of  the  school  hour. 

In    a    general    way    the    tactful    superintendent 
may   get    a   great    deal    of   valuable,    though    de- 
tached, and   often   somewhat   uncertain,   help   out 
of  the  men  and   women,  boys 
and      girls     making      up     the  sea^rcr'^^ 

classes.  There  are  people  all 
over  the  Sunday  school  room  who  if  properly 
enlisted  are  in  position  to  bring  in  new  mem- 
bers, help  weak  members,  hold  up  the  hands  of 
teachers,  and  in  many  other  ways  strengthen 
the  organization.  The  superintendent  should 
study  to  discover  these  people.  He  will  find 
on  investigation  that  they  are  much  more  numer- 
ous than  he  had  at  first  supposed ;  and  some  of 
his  best  work  will  have  been  done  when  they 
are  converted,  as  many  of  them  may  be,  from 
listless  spectators  into  active  helpers. 


42  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   SUPERINTENDENT — A   DAY   IN   THE   SUNDAY 
SCHOOL. 

Let  US  now  spend  a  day  together  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  remembering  that  the  exercises  of  each 
school  must  be  shaped  with  reference  to  its  re- 
sources and  environment.  Almost  any  school, 
however,  can  follow  the  outline  suggested  in  this 
chapter. 

To  make  certain  that  nothing  contributing  to 
thorough  preparation  has  been  overlooked,  and 
to  set  the  school  an  example  of  never-failing 
anticipation  of  this  phase  of 
On  Hand  duty,       the       superintendent 

should  be  on  hand  early.  No 
considerable  proportion  of  the  school  should  ever 
see  him  in  hat  and  overcoat  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing. Following  him  sufficiently  soon  to  be  able 
to  greet  and  quietly  arrange  their  classes  as  they 
come  in,  the  teachers  should  so  time  their  ar- 
rival as  to  be  always  in  advance  of  the  throng. 
The  teacher  should  see  at  once  to  the  distribution 
of  Bibles  and  song  books,  of  both  of  which  the 
supply  should  be  ample,  and  also  see  to  the 
marking  of  the  readings.  No  school  whose 
teachers  thus  remember  their  duties  is  disorderly 


Sunday  Schooi.  43 

in  the  opening.  Indeed  the  teacher's  quiet,  dig- 
nified, unobtrusive  attention  to  details  all  through 
the  hour  is  a  specific  absolute  against  everything 
of  an  unpleasant  or  disturbing  character. 

The  next  essential  is  the  prompt  arrival  of 
the  school.  There  never  was  and  never  will  be 
a  very  good  Sunday  school  any  appreciable  pro- 
portion    of     whose     members 

come  straggling  in  all  through      ^  Prompt 
,  .  Sunday  School, 

the  hour.  Tardmess  is  abso- 
lutely intolerable  in  an  officer  or  teacher,  and 
is  reprehensible  in  the  pupil.  It  is  demoralizing 
from  every  point  of  view,  and  the  superintendent 
must  reduce  it  to  an  inconsiderable  item,  or 
the  work  of  the  school  will  suffer  materially  in 
consequence.  It  is  not  an  incurable  leprosy,  but 
will  yield  to  treatment. 

Open  the  school  strictly  on  the  minute.     What 
shall  be  the  nature  of  this  opening?     The  super- 
intendent needs,  first  of  all,  an  exercise  in  which 
he    can    count    on    the    fullest 
possible    participation.      Many       „^  *°  \  ^ 

.  .  ,  Beginning. 

supermtendents  act  on  the 
theory  that  such  participation  is  to  be  reached 
by  degrees,  as  the  exercises  progress.  This  is 
a  misapprehension.  There  is  no  need  to  wait 
for  anything  in  the  way  of  introduction.  Let 
all  understand  that  they  are  needed  at  the  first 
step,  give  them  the  right  kind  of  thing  to  do 
at  the  first  step,  and  the  difficulties  will  vanish. 
Let  the  Sunday  school  feel  that  it  itself  is  open- 
ing the  school.  Do  not  let  the  opening  be  a  stiff, 
listless,   perfunctory   affair,   wholly   in   the   hands 


44  The  Organized 

of  the  superintendent,  or  the- teachers,  or  a  choir, 
or  any  certain  number  of  people. 

What  is  the  most  natural  and  easy  exercise  in 
which   people   may   be   brought   to   act  together? 
You  answer  at  once  that  it  is  singing.     To  pro- 
duce the  best  effect  they  must 
A  Careful  ^^    ^^-^^    singing,    too,    without 

Preparation.  &     &>  > 

announcement  or  the  necessity 

of  waiting  to  hunt  the  place  in  the  book.  The 
preparation  for  all  to  take  part  in  the  first  exer- 
cise should  also  be  so  complete  that  no  one  can 
have  an  excuse  for  standing  aloof.  The  music 
should  be  quite  familiar  to  all,  in  order  to  re- 
move the  last  remaining  difficulty.  It  must  also 
be  something  dignified,  grand,  swelling — appeal- 
ing to  the  worshiping  instinct  in  the  Christian 
and  to  the  admiration  of  the  worldling. 

To  secure  this  end  placard  prominently  on  the 
wall  a  single  strong,  inspiring  verse,  such  as 
"Holy,     holy,     holy !"       "Come,     thou     Almighty 

King!"      "Lion     of    Judah, 
An  Impress-  j^^^jj  ,,,     ^^     something     equally 

ive  Result.  .  .  ^^.  ^         ^         '' 

impressive.  L  1  he  same  open- 
ing verse  may  be  used  for  a  month  or  a  quarter. 
We  change  ours  monthly.]  While  the  piano, 
organ  or  orchestra  plays  an  introductory  bar  or 
two,  let  the  superintendent  call  the  school  to 
its  feet  by  a  motion  of  the  hands,  the  school 
being  trained  to  respond  instantly.  Then  on 
signal  let  every  voice  strike  the  first  word  strong 
and  full,  and  fill  the  room  with  the  paean  of 
praise.  This  constitutes  by  far  the  finest  and 
most  effective  opening  I  have  ever  seen.     While 


Sunday  Schooi,  45 

still  standing  let  a  psalm  with  which  the  school 
is  familiar  (also  changed  monthly  or  quarterly) 
be  repeated  in  concert,  followed  by  the  opening 
prayer.     Then  let  the  school   be  seated. 

Up  to  this  time  the  superintendent  has  not  said 
a  word  outside  of  his  participation  in  what  the 
school  has  done.     He  has  merely  guided,  in  the 
simplest   way  possible.     Every 
one  has  had  an  opportunity  to        ^  Gratifying 
.  ^  .      ^,  .    ^  ,    ,  Situation. 

assist  m  the  openmg,  and,  hav- 
ing begun  in  this  way,  there  will  be  more  general 
taking  part  in  what  follows  than  if  the  various 
exercises  are  approached  between  voluble  an- 
nouncements and  directions  on  the  part  of  the 
superintendent.  The  school  has  so  far  done  it 
all,  and  if  at  all  trained  has  done  it  incomparably 
better  than  it  can  be  done  by  any  officer  or  com- 
bination of  officers  and  teachers. 

This  point  having  been  reached,  give  another 
opportunity  for  singing.     Let  the  song  be  some- 
thing not  so  well  known  as  to  be  worn  out,  and 
yet     something     that     can     be 
sung    with    emphasis.      In    in-        ^  ^Jf'^^ 

.  1-1  for  Singing. 

troducmg  this  do  not  have  the 
pianist  play  more  than  chords  before  beginning, 
unless  it  is  designed  to  cover  the  confusion  of 
looking  for  the  place.  And,  by  the  way,  a  school 
can  soon  be  trained  to  quickly  find  anything  in 
either  song  book  or  Bible.  The  superintendent 
can  readily  tell  whether  the  school  needs  another 
song  right  here  or  not;  and  if  needed  it  should 
be  of  sufficiently  different  character  from  the  first 
to  afford  variety  and  yet  should  have  some  bear- 


46  The  Organized 

ing  on  the  lesson.     When  these  concert  exercises 

have  continued  a  sufficient  time,  the  reading  of 

the  lesson  should  be  introduced.     Bible  readings 

are  conducted  so  poorly  in  most  Sunday  schools 

that  we  can  afford  to  stop  right  here  and  give 

this   subject  a  little  special  attention. 

Of    whatever    else    a    Sunday    school    may    be 

short,    a    shortage    should    never    appear    in    its 

stock  of  Bibles.    The  Sunday  school  is  organized 

primarily  for  the  study  of  the 

"/o^uf^^"*^         Bible,  and  yet,  to   our   shame 
of  Bibles.  ,        .  .  ,      .  ,       , 

be    It    said,    m    many    schools 

the   Bible   which   the  teacher  brings   is   the   only 

one  available  for  an   entire   class.     Few   schools 

have  half  as  many  Bibles  as  they  need.     Bibles 

are   cheap.     Why   not   have   enough?     How   are 

our   young   people   to   become   familiar   with   the 

Word   if  never   led   any   farther   into   it   than  to 

see    the    ten    or    fifteen    verses    per    week    doled 

out  to  them  by  the  lesson  leaf?     It  is  not  enough 

that  the  few  v/ords  directly  in  use  are  set  forth 

on  the  pages  of  the  "quarterly"  or  other  help. 

The   text-book    of   the    Sunday    school    is    the 

Word,  and  the  Word  should  have  the  place  of 

honor  in  the  service.     Every  eye  should  turn  to 

the  Bible,  every  exercise  should 
The  School's  j^^^    ^Q    ^^^    gj^jg^    ^ 

Text-Book.  1        u  1 

should  paraphrase  some  sweet 

truth  of  the  Bible.     Sunday  school  work  means 

Bible  first,  last,  and  all  the  time.     The  Scripture 

lesson    is   rightfully   and   as   a   matter   of   course 

the    leading    and    all-important    item    on    every 

Sunday's  program.    It  should  not,  however,  stand 


Sunday  Schooi.  47 

alone.  While  nothing  should  be  introduced  to 
divert  attention  from  the  lesson,  other  Scriptures 
bearing  upon  it  or  illuminating  its  truths  should 
have  a  place. 

The  interest  of  the   hdur  can   in   no   way  be 
more  certainly  augmented  than  by  well   selected 
and  judiciously  arranged   additional    Bible   read- 
ings.   At  the  same  time  these  may  be  so  aimless 
and    so   poorly   arranged    as    to    be    a    detriment 
where  they  should  naturally  assist.    An  incidental 
good  growing  out  of  additional   readings   is  the 
training  in  looking  for  the  place  which  it  gives 
to  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  Bible  make-up. 
Bible  reading  exercises  as  conducted  in  many 
Sunday   schools   are   not    only    uninteresting   but 
are   depressing.     It   is  depressing  to   listen  to  a 
concert  reading  or  a  responsive 
reading  in  which  only  a  small        ^  Depressing 
percentage  of  the  members  of 
the  school  take  part ;   depressing  and  demoraliz- 
ing to  have  a  long  and  tedious  delay  in  finding 
the    place    as    readings    are    announced.      Even 
after  waiting  for  a  reasonable  time  the  superin- 
tendent often  finds  that  the  first  responsive  verse 
is   rendered   by   but    few    readers.     The    next    is 
read  by  an  increased  number,  and  if  the  reading 
be  long  enough   the  responses   toward  the  close 
may   be    sufficiently   general   to    embrace   a   large 
proportion    of    the    school — provided    the    school 
manifests    enough    interest   to    take   part    in    the 
proceedings. 

In  the  school  with  which  I  am  connected  this 
trouble  has  been  largely  obviated.     By  our  plan 


48  The  Organized 

three   short   readings   are   arranged   for,   follow- 
ing  each    other    consecutively.     The   first    is    the 
lesson  of  the  day.    The  second  is  some  Scripture 
enlarging   upon    some    thought 
A  Modern  ^^    ^^^    lesson.      The    third    is 

Plan  Instead.  . 

usually    an    appropriate    psalm 

— we  rarely  have  a  Sunday  without  a  psalm. 
These  are  selected  beforehand,  with  care,  and 
prominently  posted,  as  described  in  Chapter  IV, 
under  the  head  of  "Scripture  Readings."  The 
order  of  the  national  colors  is  quickly  suggestive, 
^nd  will  soon  be  caught  by  the  school,  with  the 
aid  of  the  teachers,  resulting  in  the  readings 
being  easily  marked  and  promptly  and  effectively 
rendered. 

The  readings  may  be  followed  by  another  song, 
selected  also  with  a  view  to  securing  general 
participation ;  and  now  the  time  for  the  lesson 
has  arrived.  The  exercises  up  to  this  time,  if 
promptly  and  properly  conducted,  should  not 
occupy    more    than    fifteen    to    eighteen    minutes. 

All  departments  of  the  school  should  feel  the 

heart-throb   of   sympathetic   connection   with   the 

entire   body,    and    for    this    reason    the    Primary 

classes    should    be    present    in 

Ready  for  ^^^     ^^-^^     ^^^^^     during    the 

the  Lesson.  ...  , 

openmg,     even     if     there     be 

separate  rooms  for  their  use  in  the  recitation 
hour.  A  minute  or  two  of  instrumental  music, 
if  available,  will  cover  the  slight  confusion  of 
classes  taking  their  places,  and  the  retirement 
of  the  Primary  pupils  to  their  own  rooms.  Even 
without   this   music,   though,   this   rearrangement 


Sunday  ScHooiy  49 

of  the  school  may  with  a  little  forethought  and 
practice  be  accomplished  with  quietness  and 
celerity.  By  the  way,  this  end  will  be  promoted 
by  having  the  classes  locate  on  arrival  as  nearly 
as  may  be  where  they  will  sit  during  recitation. 
"Decently  and  in  order,"  you  know,  are  the  words 
of  the  apostle. 

The  time  of  the  teacher  in  the  beginning  of 
the  lesson  will  be  saved  if  class  secretaries,  with 
as  little  interruption  to  class  work  as  possible, 
will   mark  the  attendance  and 

take     up    the     collections.       An  The  Lesson 

,  ,        ,  ,  Recitation, 

assistant  supermtendent  should 

have  already  looked  after  the  vacancies  caused 
by  the  absence  of  teachers,  and  filled  them  from 
a  corps  of  regularly  appointed  substitute  teachers 
scattered  among  the  Bible  classes.  A  period 
of  thirty  to  thirty-five  minutes  may  be  devoted 
to  the  lesson.  The  Bible  classes  would  often 
like  to  have  a  little  more  time,  while  teachers 
of  young  people  sometimes  think  a  little  less 
would  be  better.  All  things  considered,  the  time 
named  is  perhaps  as  good  an  average  as,  for  our 
purpose,  could  be  selected. 

Where  the  school  has  an  orchestra,  or  is  pre- 
pared   to    render    suitable    instrumental     music, 
a  softly  played  selection  may  be  begun  three  or 
four  minutes   before  the  close 
of    the     lesson,     the     teachers        Just  After 

.  the  Lesson. 

understandmg    the     signal     to 
wind    up    their    work.       Such    classes    as    have 
changed  position  should  now  return  for  the  re- 
view,  and  it   is   preferable,   although   not   always 


50  .  Thk  Organized 

practicable,  for  the  Primary  classes  to  return 
for  this  exercise.  When  the  instrumental  music 
is  ended  a  song  is  announced,  the  singing  of 
which  brings  the  school  again  into  a  sympathetic 
whole. 

Right  here  is  perhaps  the  best  place  of  all 
for  making  necessary  announcements,  which 
should    be   as    brief   as    13    consistent    with    their 

being  understood.  If  held 
The  Place  for  ^^^^    ^^^^^jj    ^^^   ^j^^^   ^j^^^   ^^^_ 

Announcements.        .  ,      ,     . 

stitute  a  more  marked  mter- 
ruption.  It  is'  desirable  that  the  last  impression 
a  pupil  takes  from  the  room  shall  be  a  thought 
connected  with  the  lesson,  and  announcements  at 
the  end  may  defeat  this  object.  The  report  of 
the   secretary   may   be    introduced   at   this   point, 

although  it  is  quite  preferable 
The  Secre-  ^^^^    ^j^j^    report    be    in    some 

tary's  Report.         ,        .,  ,  , 

detail  and  made  on  an  espe- 
cially ruled,  prominently  placed  blackboard  (see 
Figure  2),  and  not  read  before  the  school  at  all. 
The  blackboard  report  will  be  remembered,  while 
only  an  occasional  individual  will  get  the  full 
measure  of  the  verbal  report.  Besides,  the  black- 
board as  a  minute  saver  is  invaluable. 

If  announcements  have  been  of  a  character  to 
divide  attention  with  the  lesson  an  appropriate 
song  just  here  may  bring  the  school  into  line 
again.     And  now  for  the  review. 

The  review  which  follows  each  Sunday's  lesson 
should  be  the  crown  of  the  lesson.  It  should 
not  attempt  too  much.  It  should  aim  at  en- 
forcing only  one  or  two  truths,  but  these  should 


Sunday  School  51 

stand  out  most  distiiicn>.     A  bit  of  well-chosen 
lesson  incident,   a   strong  illustration  or  two,  an 
application   to    something   or   of   something   with 
which    everybody    is    familiar, 
the  introduction  of  some  cur-       _  °"*  *  ^ 

•  1  1  •   1         1  Review. 

rent  event  with  which  the 
thought  of  the  lesson  may  be  properly  connected 
— all  these  should  be  within  the  quick  grasp  of 
the  reviewer.  Scripture,  history,  geography, 
science,  experience — everything — may  at  one  time 
or  another  be  made  tributary. 

The  review  must  be  the  most  resourceful  ex- 
ercise  of   the    day,    or   it    will    fail    to   serve    its 
purpose.     It  should    always    be    brief,    and    the 
watchful    superintendent    must 
be   ready  to   turn   it  this   way      Wanted-Re- 

.  sourcefulness. 

or  that  as  the  nagging  atten- 
tion or  unresponsive  condition  of  the  school  may 
suggest.  He  must  have  resort  to  song,  special 
reading,  or  anything  else  which  promises  quick 
relief  to  an  embarrassing  pause.  Brother,  don't 
— don't — DON^T  hang  on  in  a  groping,  aimless 
way  to  an  exercise  which  is  failing  of  its  object. 
Turn  quickly  to  something  else.  Even  when  en- 
tlrel}^  satisfactory  the  review  should  be  promptly 
ended,  in  such  a  way  if  possible  that  the  school 
may  desire  more  rather  than  rejoice  at  its  con- 
clusion. 

The  Socratic  or  catechetical  method  is  of 
course  the  best  of  all  methods  for  reviewing — 
just  as  it  is  the  best  for  teaching  in  the  classes 
— as  far  as  it  is  practicable.  Review  periods, 
however,   are   always    essentially    short,    and   the 


52  Thk  Organized 

reviewer  cannot  make  this  his  sole  reliance.  That 
review  is  usually  the  most  successful  to  whose 
questions  quick  replies  have  been  made  by  the 
largest  number  of  people. 

An   exercise  intended  to   interest  and   instruct 

people  of  all  ages  is  difficult  beyond  description. 

The  superintendent  must  not  talk  over  the  heads 

of   the    younger    scholars,    nor 

Not  in  the  ^^^^     ^^     address    the     older 

Nursery.  ^111 

ones   as  though  he  were  m  a 

nursery.  How  often  does  he  feel  at  the  close 
of  a  day's  work  that  he  has  gone  to  the  one 
or  the  other  of  these  unfortunate  extremes. 
The  "baby  talk"  line  is  perhaps  a  more  damaging 
style  of  review  than  its  opposite,  in  its  effect 
upon  the  interest  manifested  in  the  exercise.  The 
Primary  Department  affords  a  field  in  which  an 
extremely  juvenile  style  of  discourse  may  be 
acceptable,  although  even  there  it  may  be  badly 
overdone;  but  this  manner  of  address  has  no 
proper  place  outside  of  that  limit.  The  boys  and 
girls  of  the  Intermediate  division  strongly  re- 
sent the  patronizing  style  which  implies  that 
they  must  be  talked  to  in  diminutives  and  nurs- 
ery idioms.  Have  you  not,  on  the  other  hand, 
seen  old  and  young  alike  lean  forward  in  eager 
listening  when  the  superintendent,  a  visitor,  or 
a  substitute,  acting  as  reviewer,  has  been  so 
f'^rtunate  as  to  be  able  to  discharge  the  trying 
duties  of  that  position  without  departing  from 
the  use  of  pure  English  or  drawing  upon  the 
vocabulary  of  Mother  Goose?  Let  the  review 
be  wholesome,  clear,  strong,  brief,  and  the  young 


Sunday  Schooi.  53 

people,  whose  minds  are  fed  in  the  day  school 
on  solid  food,  will  thrive  no  less  on  the  undiluted 
milk  of  the  Word. 

What  is  the  superintendent  to   do  amid  these 
difficulties?     One  of  his  strong  points  is  to  en- 
force his  lesson  thought  by  illustration,  which  if 
apt  is  not  lost  on  any  division 
of  the  school.     Another  is  to     what  Shall  the 

.  .  Reviewer  Do? 

talk  just  as  little  as  circum- 
stances will  permit.  Another  is  to  get  just  as 
much  as  he  can  out  of  people  all  over  the  room, 
in  detached  remarks  and  quick  replies,  at  the 
same  time  neatly  and  courteously  cutting  off  the 
wordy  brother  who,  once  wound  up,  will  never 
of  himself  run  down.  Above  all,  he  must  keep 
things  going  in  such  a  way  that  flagging  atten- 
tion will  be  tempted  into  at  least  a  semblance  of 
interest  in  what  may  come  next. 

The  visitor  is  most  welcome  in  every  school. 
May  his  tribe  indefinitely  increase !     The  courte- 
ous  superintendent  incurs   a   great   risk,   though, 
when  he  undertakes  to  utilize 
this   factor   in   the   review   ex-       y^^^J^^^ 
ercises  of  the  school.    Circum- 
stances are  rare  indeed  in  which  any  one  should 
be  invited  to  address  the   Sunday  school  in  the 
school  hour.     Much  less  can  the  superintendent 
afford  to  extend  such  an  invitation  to  the  untried 
stranger.     The   higher   duty   to   the    school    just 
here  takes  precedence  of  all  other  considerations. 
If  the  visitor  must  be  recognized  ask  him  a  direct 
question,  in  the  review,  among  the  general  ques- 
tions propounded  to  the  school.     Of  course  there 


54  Thk  Organized 

are  visitors  who  are  certain  to  do  most  acceptable 
work,  and  circumstances  may  justify  even  press- 
ing such  a  guest  into  service. 

A    song    naturally    follows    the    review,    and 

snatches    of    song   may    with    equal    propriety   be 

scattered  through  it,  one  of  the  excellent  points 

of  the  song  service  being  that 

The  Day  |^  ^       ^^  exactly  adjusted  to 

Finished.  ,  .  ■,         r-n     ■,        ttt-i 

the  time  to  be  filled.  When 
the  hour  for  closing  conies  the  one  thing  to  do 
is  to  close.  Even  if  the  end  seems  to  have  come 
all  too  soon,  the  close  should  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  on  the  minute.  Having  filled  the  time 
full  from  first  to  last,  without  delay  or  drag, 
let  everybody  understand  that  it  is  just  as  im- 
portant to  quit  promptly  as  to  begin  promptly. 
The  closing  song,  the  benediction  or  closing 
prayer,  the  musical  finale,  and  all  is  over. 

In  our  day's  work  there  has  been  little  of  elab- 
oration, and  If  the  day  has  been  satisfactory  it 
has  been  as  much  because  of  preparation  as  of 

execution.       There     has     been 
A°Ti'n^  nothing    of    inflexible    regime. 

There  has  been  no  display  of 
machinery.  The  program  has  been  simplicity 
itself.  Attention  has  been  close  and  constant. 
A  chord  of  sympathy  has  run  through  everybody 
and  everything;  and  the  school  which  has  had  a 
succession  of  days  of  this  kind  is  always  ready 
for  another. 


Sunday  School  55 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    SUPERINTENDENT — SPECIAL    DAYS. 

The  Sunday  school  should  lose  no  opportunity 
of  keeping  itself  before  the  public  in   ways  that 
are  legitimate  and  germane  to  the  purpose   for 
which     it     is     organized.       It 
should    be    steadily    advertised        Not  Under 

.    .  .  ^,  a  Bushel 

by  Its  activities.  The  com- 
munity should  be  constantly  reminded  of  its 
existence  through  these  activities.  It  should  not 
only  be  advertised  by  its  loving  friends  and  by 
the  good  it  has  done,  but  by  the  restless  energy 
which  permits  no  vacations  in  its  work  and  no 
abatement  in  its  progress. 

One  of  the  best  agencies  for  accomplishing 
the  end  hinted  at  is  the  special  day.  Nothing 
has  ever  been  found  to  successfully  perform  the 
same   office,    nothing   to   serve 

the  same  purpose  to  the  same        ^"*  °"  ^.  , 
.         ^   .   ,  X      .       ,  Candlestick, 

benencial  extent.  It  is,  how- 
ever, like  many  other  agencies  for  good,  sus- 
ceptible to  abuse,  and  it  is  only  when  guided 
and  regulated  in  accordance  with  strict  common 
sense  that  it  is  of  unmixed  advantage  to  the 
Sunday  school. 
Special  days  serve  several  useful  ends.     Prima- 


56i  The  Organized 

rily  they  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  scholars 
the  character  and  importance  of  the  several 
events    and    circumstances    which    the    days    are 

meant    to    celebrate,    and   they 
Useful  Ends         develop     the     resources     and 
^^^  '  capabilities    of    the    school    in 

the  preparation  of  the  programs  for  these  days. 
Incidentally  they  assist  greatly  in  furnishing  the 
variety  which  is  so  essential  to  permanent  interest 
in  Sunday  school  exercises,  and  at  the  same  time 
they  advertise  the  work  of  the  school  in  the 
community  as  it  can  be  done  perhaps  in  no  other 
way. 

In  the  broadest  sense  every  Sunday  in  the  year 
should  be  made  a  special  day.  The  alert  super- 
intendent is  always  on  the  lookout  for  something 

which  may  so  individualize  the 
Every  Sunday      exercises  of  every  meeting  of 

his  school  as  to  impress  and 
cause  them  to  be  remembered.  He  thoroughly 
understands  the  utility  of  the  pleasant  surprise, 
and  its  importance,  not  only  in  interesting,  but 
in  enforcing  the  lessons  which  it  is  sought  to 
fasten  in  the  minds  of  the  pupils  at  every  step. 
The  work  which  throws  new  light  on  an  old 
truth  is  in  effect  special  work,  just  as  is  the  con- 
stant effort  to  give  new  direction  to  the  unused 
energies  which  abound  in  every  school ;  and  this 
kind  of  work  will  tend  to  give  each  Sunday 
school  year  fifty-two  special  days — fifty-two  days 
on  which  the  membership  turns  toward  the  place 
of  meeting  with  cheerful  anticipation.  Nowhere 
is   this   regularly   accomplished   in   just   the   way 


Sunday  Schooi.  57 

the  officers  have  planned  or  desire — but  where 
is  the  well-managed  school  which  has  not  now 
and  then  recorded  an  accidental  special  day 
crowned  with  a  success  beyond  all  expectation? 
As  in  all  other  kinds  of  church  work,  while  the 
specific  thing  for  which  we  labor  may  not  be 
exactly  realized,  the  effort  which  we  make  places 
us  in  line  for  the  realization  of  other  good  which, 
in  our  own  planning,  is  either  unlooked-for  or  is 
less  clearly  defined. 

By  a  special  day,  however,  is  meant  an  occasion 
which  throws  the  school  out  of  its   regular  line 
of  exercises,   disarranges  the  allotments  of  time 
for   recitation,   and    substitutes 
therefor  an  especially  arranged       V^^  ^f^.'^'^^. 

^,         .  „  Day  Defined. 

program.  1  he  days  generally 
recognized  as  special  are  Easter,  Children's  Day, 
Rally  Day  and  Christmas.  The  three  last  come 
in  the  three  last  quarters  of  the  year,  while  the 
first  comes  either  in  the  latter  part  of  the  first 
quarter  or  in  the  early  part  of  the  second.  They 
are,  therefore,  distributed  to  pretty  good  ad- 
vantage, missing  as  they  do  the  very  hot  season, 
and  suiting  well  the  general  convenience  of  the 
school.  Of  course  there  is  no  happen-so  about 
this,  and  it  is  the  result  of  many  years  of  experi- 
ence and  observation  by  skilled  workers  in  the 
Sunday  school  field. 

Other  special  days  may  occasionally  be  inter- 
jected to  advantage,  provided  they  do  not  inter- 
fere with  the  regular  lesson  program,  and  pro- 
vided there  is  sufficient  reason  for  their  ap- 
pointment.    An  anniversary  in  which  an  impor- 


58  Thk  Organized 

tant  section  of  the  school  or  the  entire  school 
is  especially  interested  is  always  in  place.  The 
communion  days  of  the  church  may  with  pro- 
priety be  added  to  the  calendar 

The  Commun-      ^^  special  Sunday  school  days. 

ion  Day.  .  ,     , 

A  great  good  m  connection 
with  these  days  is,  besides  the  advantage  to  the 
school,  the  resultant  increased  attendance  at  com- 
munion. These  really  prove  to  be  special  rallying 
days  for  the  church,  and  are  much  more  effective, 
enjoyable  and  profitable  than  the  four  days  al- 
ready mentioned  which  Sunday  schools  usually 
observe. 

Placing  such  a  day  from  time  to  time  in  charge 
of  a  Bible  class  or  a  division  of  the  school  (acting 
in    conjunction    with    the    superintendent)    helps 

greatly  as  a  developer  of  those 
Developing  temporarily  charged  with  this 

Workers.  .    . 

responsibility.  The  division  in 
charge  is  expected  to  especially  assist  in  the 
opening  and  closing  exercises  (leaving  the  lesson 
recitation  undisturbed),  to  suitably  decorate  the 
building,  to  distribute  invitations  throughout  the 
community  among  possible  Sunday  school  re- 
cruits, and  to  get  out  the  church  members  not 
usually  attending  either  Sunday  school  or  the 
communion  service. 

The  influence  of  this  class  of  special  days  on 
substantial  school  growth  is  often  unmistakable, 
and  as  advertisers  of  the  school's  work  they  are 
perhaps  equal  in  effectiveness  to  all  other  influ- 
ences combined.  Christmas,  Easter,  etc.,  are  ob- 
served in  all  schools,  and  in  attempting  to  make 


Sunday  Schooi.  59 

an  impression  in  the  community  one  school  is 
lost  in  the  general  celebration.  These  other 
special  days  are  free  from  this  hindrance  to  bring- 
ing out  an  attendance,  and  therefore  have  a 
marked  advantage  over  all  other  unusual  Sunday 
school  occasions. 

A  Sunday  school  special  day  service  should  not 
be  an  elaborate  service.    A  prejudice  against  such 
days   exists   here  and   there  because   of  the   sup- 
posed necessity  of  complication 
and  elaboration.     There  is   no        _^°' 

,  ,  T     1       i        •  Elaboration. 

such  necessity.  Indeed  sim- 
plicity is  an  essential,  and  there  is  little  risk  in 
challenging  the  observation  of  veteran  Sunday 
school  vv^orkers  in  support  of  this  statement.  The 
program  for  such  an  occasion  if  full  of  difficult 
details  is  as  wearying  to  those  who  look  and 
listen  as  it  is  harassing  to  those  who  take  part. 
It  is  very  easy  to  overdo  in  the  effort  to  entertain 
and  to  overreach  in  testing  the  capacity  of  the 
Sunday  school  hour,  and  both  dangers  should  be 
and  can  be  avoided.  That  special  day  program 
is  the  best  which  is  largely  constructed  within 
the  school  itself,  and  tactfully  adapted  to  its 
make-up  and  its  environment.  To  have  the  gen- 
eral trend  of  the  exercises  planned  by  those  who 
know  the  school  and  its  capabilities  is  to  provide 
against  attempting  the  unreasonable  or  the  im- 
possible, as  well  as  to  achieve  the  greatest  suc- 
cess. 

For  Easter  and  Christmas  the  exercises  now 
published  in  such  profusion  will  perhaps  furnish 
for   the   average    Sunday    school   the   most   satis- 


6o  The  Organized 

factory  solution  of  the  problem  of  providing  for 
these  days.  Many  of  these  programs  are  excel- 
lent, and  most  of  them  are  richly  suggestive.     As 

a   rule,   however,   they  are  too 
Ready-Made  ^  ^    ^^^^^^    ^j^j^^    j^     ^^^jj 

Programs.  j-    j       i,  •      •  j 

remedied  by  omission,  and 
which  is  really  an  advantage,  as  it  allows  some 
choice  as  to  what  may  be  omitted.  It  is,  perhaps, 
true  of  all  of  them,  though,  that  they  may  be 
amended  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  to  suit  the 
conditions  of  the  school  in  which  a  given  one 
is  to  be  rendered.  Ever  so  slight  a  change 
may  suffice  to  localize  the  exercise  and  render 
it  more  acceptable.  As  a  rule  the  farther  this 
localizing  may  be  made  to  reach  the  better.  The 
impress  of  the  individuality  of  the  school  should 
be  stamped  upon  the  exercises.  The  well-man- 
aged Sunday  school  will  in  some  way  secure  the 
end  of  having  its  programs  of  every  kind  dis- 
tinctly characteristic  of  itself. 

The  special  day  program,  like  the  program  for 

any  Sunday  school  day,  should  never  be  inflexible. 

It   should  be   so   far   adjustable  as   to   admit   of 

slight    variation    when,    as    is 

Flexibility  Q£^gj^  ^i^g  ^^^^^   g^^^l^  variation 

of  Program.  .  ,      .      ,  ,  tt    i-i 

IS  desirable.  Unlike  many 
other  organizations  the  Sunday  school  requires 
to  have  its  program  to  some  extent  the  creat- 
ure of  the  occasion.  At  all  events  it  is  well 
to  have  it  so  arranged  that  the  superintendent 
may  be  able  without  warning  to  transpose,  inter- 
ject or  omit,  as  circumstances  may  suggest — and 
circumstances    are    prone    to    frequently    suggest 


Sunday  Schooi,  6i 

such  changes.  For  this  reason  I  prefer  to  work 
without  printed  program  as  far  as  possible. 
There  should  be  something  in  the  planning  which 
may  be  left  out  without  giving  offense  or  mar- 
ring the  exercises,  and  something  which  may  be 
interpolated  to  fill  an  unexpected  gap  or  create 
a  pleasing  diversion.  The  necessity  of  brevity 
and  simplicity  must  be  kept  in  mind,  together 
with  the  chance  occurrence  of  the  unforeseen,  and 
the  possibility  of  a  happy  inspiration  which  may 
give  to  a  day  its  very  best  feature.  To  thus 
change  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  cannot  be 
undertaken  safely  by  an  inexperienced  superin- 
tendent ;  but  by  observation  and  practice  one  may 
in  time  learn  to  do  this  with  ease. 

The     exercises     of    the     generally     recognized 
special  days,  and  such  exercises  as  are  outside  of 
the  lesson  on  other  special  days,  should  contain  a 
maximum     of     music     and     a 
minimum    of    everything    else.     A  Maximum 

,  .       .        ,  and  a  Minimum. 

1  his   IS   because   music   is   the 

most  enjoyable  of  all  features  of  such  occasions, 
because  it  may  be  more  easily  omitted  than 
anything  else,  and  because  it  is  marked  by 
the  maximum  of  participation  on  the  part  of  the 
school.  Recitations  and  addresses  should,  for  ob- 
vious reasons,  be  sparingly  inserted.  Such  reci- 
itations  as  are  considered  proper  should  be  ren- 
dered by  the  smaller  children — never  by  adults — 
and  the  necessary  addresses  should  be  assigned 
only  to  those  who  have  a  keen  realization  of  the 
place  which  a  minute  holds  in  Sunday  school 
economy. 


S2  Thk  Organized 

If  at  a!t  possible  every  program  rendered  in 
connection  with  the  Sunday  school  should  depend 
wholly  on  Sunday  school  talent.  There  may  be 
circumstances  where  this  is  impracticable,  but 
they  are  rare.  Public  occasions  should  be  school 
developers,  and  this  end  is  defeated  if  outsiders 
are  called  in  for  any  appreciable  amount  of  help. 
Besides  the  membership  of  the  school  is  often 
and  sometimes  justly  displeased  when  outside 
assistance  is  depended  on,  and  the  public  rarely 
regards  such  assistance  otherwise  than  with  dis- 
favor. 

No  exercises  whatever  should  be  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Sunday  school  which  are  not  thor- 
oughly in  keeping  with  the  objects  and  aims  of 
the    institution.      The    Sunday 

A  Single  Aim         ^^j^^^j    j^^^    ^j^^^j^    ^^    Unmis- 
in  View.  ,     ,  ,  ,  .  _ 

takable    and    conspicuous.      In 

the  work  of  no  special  day  should  the  lesson  of 
that  day  be  concealed  or  ignored.  It  may  not 
be  feasible  to  keep  it  prominent  in  the  exercises, 
but  at  some  point  and  in  some  way  it  should  be 
clearly  and  strikingly  revealed. 

The  regular  sessions  of  Sunday  and  the  Christ- 
mas  entertainment    should    not   cover   all   of   the 
public  exercises  of  the  Sunday  school.    An  even- 
ing meeting  of  the  school  held 
Eveniif  ^s"'^^        once  or  twice  a  year,  at  a  well- 
chosen  date,   during  the  week, 
will  bring  its  work  to  the  attention  of  people  who 
will  perhaps  never  know  anything  of  it  personally 
if  strictly  confined  to  Sunday.     Such  an  evening 
in  the  summer  may  be  prepared  for  with  plenty 


Sunday  Schooi.  63 

of  stirring  music,  an  abundance  of  flowers,  a  little 
— very  little — good  talking,  etc.,  and  many  people 
may  be  induced  to  pay  the  school  a  visit  who  are 
invited  Sunday  morning  in  vain.  Let  children 
and  adults  appear  in  holiday  attire,  and  make  the 
occasion  as  bright  and  attractive  as  may  be.  The 
meeting  may  be  called  a  jubilee,  or  any  other 
selected  suitable  name,  and  well  advertised  and 
prepared  for  it  will  be  a  success.  Earnest  local 
workers  will  be  quick  to  see  the  advantages  of 
such  gatherings  for  free  entertainment  in  some 
form,  and  good  programs  of  many  kinds  will 
suggest  themselves. 

The  average  Sunday  school  fails  to  make  of 
the  special  day  all  that  should  be  made  of  it, 
or  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  it  af- 
fords both  for  the  development  of  the  school  and 
for  an  aggressive  campaign  for  growth  in  the 
community.  In  this  era  of  unparalleled  Sunday 
school  development  the  time  should  come  when 
such  a  statement  can  be  made  of  only  an  occa- 
sional organization. 


64  'The  Organized 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT — ADDENDA. 

In  all  that  has  been  said  in  these  chapters  about 

the  superintendent  it  has  been  presumed  that  the 

office  is  filled  by  a  man.     It  is  not  to  be  inferred 

from  this  that  the  writer  ques- 

Women  as  Su-      ^j^^^  ^^^  propriety  of  the  same 

perintendents.  •,  -i-         ■,     •  i         t     • 

responsibility    being    placed    in 

the  hands  of  a  woman.  Indeed  woman's  superior 
tact,  her  devotion  to  duty,  her  deep  religious  life, 
and  often  her  greater  ability  to  arouse  enthusi- 
asm among  her  helpers,  point  to  her  as  especially 
adapted  to  this  kind  of  leadership.  Observation 
goes  to  show  that  in  the  comparatively  few  in- 
stances in  which  women  are  working  as  superin- 
tendents their  success  is  of  a  higher  order  than 
that  of  the  other  sex.  The  one  drawback  is  the 
very  onerous  character  of  the  duties,  which  is 
sometimes  a  severe  tax  on  one's  personal  strength. 
In  many  schools  the  superintendent  is  really 
janitor,  factotum  and  general  drudge — a  condi- 
tion which  should  not  exist,  but  which  existing 
settles  effectually  for  such  schools  the  question 
of  sex  in  this  office. 

The  superintendent  should  keep  a  careful  record 
of  all  his  work  in  the  Sundaj''  school.     An  ordi- 


Sunday  Schooi.  65 

nary  pocket  memorandum  will  suffice,  although 
a  small  book  prepared  for  the  purpose,  of  which 
there  are  specimens  in  the  market,  is  better.  This 
book    should    contain    in    brief 

the      statistics      of     the      school,      The  Supenntend- 

memoranda  of  all  the  songs 
sung,  the  Scriptures  read,  the  programs  used,  and 
the  many  other  data  growing  out  of  active  work. 
Such  a  record  not  only  becomes  a  matter  of 
special  interest  as  the  years  go  by,  but  is  valuable 
in  information  and  suggestion. 

The  superintendent  should  include  in  his  prepa- 
ration for  Sunday  more  than  he  will  be  able  to 
use.     That   is,    he    should   have   in    reserye   pos- 
sibilities in  his  program  some 
of  which  will  have  to  be  laid     ^^l^^  ^""^ 

.  ,         r  1  .  to  Spare. 

aside  for  some  other  time. 
Circumstances  may  suggest  very  important 
changes  after  the  school  hour  has  begun,  and  the 
resourcefulness  of  the  superintendent  may  be 
severely  taxed.  The  labor  expended  in  order  to 
be  thus  ready  for  emergencies  is  never  lost. 
Never  have  an  iron-clad  program. 

The  bell  is  fast  disappearing  from  the  best  Sun- 
day schools,  many  having  dispensed  with  its  use 
altogether.     It  has  its  distinct  and  proper  office, 
but  can  really  be  spared  with- 
out   detriment    to    the    service,     "^j"^  I'assing 

1  ,  11-  .  ,     '      of  the  Bell. 

where   the   school    is    provided 
with  a  musical  instrument  or  an  orchestra.     The 
sounding  of  the  bell  as  the  signal  for  everything 
that    is    done    soon    becomes    more    demoralizing 
than  helpful.     In  the  few  places  in  the  exercises 


66  Thk  Organized 

where  it  seems  to  be  necessary  it  should  be 
sounded  once  or  twice  clearly,  and  not  jingled 
persistently  in  an  effort  to  secure  attention. 

Do  just  as  little  talking  to  the  school  as  is  com- 
patible  with   the   work  of  management.     In   any 
case  the  superintendent  must  have  more  or  less 
to  say  every  time  the  school  is 
Silence  is  ^^jj^^  together,  and  the  habit 

Golden.  .        ,.  .  ,      .  ., 

of  talking  too  much  is  easily 
formed  and  not  easily  broken.  If  difficulty  is 
encountered  in  making  announcements  brief, 
clear  and  pointed,  a  good  practice  is  to  write  them 
out  and  read  them  from  the  desk.  As  recom- 
mended in  another  place,  the  teachers'  meeting 
affords  an  opportunity  of  making  explanations 
which  are  often  made  in  the  presence  of  the  entire 
school  to  very  little  purpose.  Not  only  is  time 
saved  by  adopting  this  plan,  but  the  effectiveness 
of  the  superintendent's  directions  is  thereby  very 
much  enhanced. 

It  should  be  a  rare  occasion  indeed  when  the 
superintendent  keeps  the  school  waiting  on  any- 
body.    No  one  who  has  a  part  to  perform  has  a 

right   to   expect   any    such    in- 
Do  Not  dulgence.     The   superintendent 

"Meekly  Wait."         ,        ,,  r  -ui        4-       J 

should  as  far  as  possible  stand 
between  the  young  people  in  his  care  and  the 
individual  who  presumes  to  keep  them  waiting 
for  a  single  minute  for  any  purpose,  and  should 
protect  them  from  such  treatment.  If  it  is  a 
member  of  the  school  who  is  derelict  that  mem- 
ber should  at  least  be  privately  and  earnestly 
remonstrated  with,  and  should  be  discredited  for 


Sunday  School  67 

tardiness  on  the  school's  records.  If  the  superin- 
tendent himself  habitually  or  through  careless- 
ness causes  such  waiting  he  is  showing  at  least 
one  pronounced  disqualification  for  the  respon- 
sible position  which  he  holds. 

And,  finally,  brother  superintendent,  in  all  your 
painstaking   work   do   not    fail    to   recognize   the 
object  in  view.     Thorough  organization,  carefully 
planned  exercises,  close  atten- 
tion   to    details— all    of    these      J^\fj''^°^ 
.  .  ,  the  W^ork. 

things   are   only   means   to   an 

end.  They  are  important  only  as  they  affect 
the  opportunity  of  interesting  old  and  young  in 
the  study  of  God's  word,  in  impressing  them 
with  its  truths,  in  leading  them  to  appropriate  its 
promises.  The  Sunday  school  is  fulfilling  its 
mission  only  as  it  establishes  Christian  character 
and  as  it  leads  into  the  higher  life.  A  question 
which  each  responsible  officer  needs  to  ask  him- 
self, with  this  realization  in  mind,  is,  "How  nearly 
is  the  school  of  which  I  have  charge  doing  just 
this  work?" 


68  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   ASSISTANT    SUPERINTENDENT. 

As  the  duties   of  the  assistant   superintendent 

consist  largely   in   helping  to   do  the   things   the 

chief   responsibility    for    which    devolves    on   the 

superintendent,  it  follows  that 

f:*^      ""^     .      .     a  manual   for  the  guidance  of 
Partly  Outlined.      ,       ,  „  ,        i  ,    , 

the  latter  officer  should  be  no 
less  suggestive  to  the  former.  The  chapters  over 
which  we  have  just  passed  are  therefore  in  a 
sense  as  well  suited  to  the  one  position  as  to  the 
other.  It  is  always  within  the  range  of  possibility 
that  the  assistant  may  on  any  given  Sunday  be 
called  upon  to  do  the  work  of  the  chief,  and  he 
should  because  of  this  be  a  close  student  of  that 
individual's  work.  The  permanent  removal  or 
disability  of  the  superintendent  is  an  ever  present 
contingency,  which  points  to  the  wisdom  of  his 
natural  successor  being  ever  ready  for  the  suc- 
cession. 

There  are  regular  duties  for  the  assistant,  how- 
ever, which  very  properly  and  easily  fall  to  his 
lot,  and  which  the  superintendent  in  turn  may 
perform  as  best  he  can  during  the  absence  or 
disability  of  the  assistant.  One  of  these  is  at- 
tending to  the  employment  of  substitute  teachers 


Sunday  School  69 

in  the  absence  of  those  regiilarly  in  charge  of 

the    classes.      During   the    opening    exercises    the 

superintendent's  attention  is  too  much  engrossed 

with  the   work  in   hand  to   in 

every    instance    discover    just       „^?"""^ 

,  ,  ,  ^  Substitutes, 

who   among  the  teachers   may 

be  present  and  who  absent.  Even  if  fully  cog- 
nizant of  all  of  these  details  he  cannot  leave  his 
desk  to  attend  to  them.  The  assistant  should 
note  these  things,  call  a  regularly  appointed  sub- 
stitute in  each  case,  and  have  a  leader  seated 
with  each  class  as  early  as  may  be  in  the  ex- 
ercises. A  still  better  provision  for  such  emer- 
gencies is  for  the  teacher  who  knows  of  a  coming 
absence  to  arrange  for  the  substitute  in  advance. 
Another  duty  lying  especially  within  the 
province  of  the  assistant  is  to  greet  and  seat 
strangers  upon  arrival.  The  superintendent  may 
incidentally  assist  in  this  in 
cases  where  the  visitors  come       Welcoming 

.  .  1,1  ,  the  Stranger. 

m  before  the  openmg,  although 
his  preparatory  work  may  render  even  this  im- 
practicable. The  superintendent  of  course  wants 
to  meet  every  one  who  looks  in  on  the  school, 
but  his  time  for  such  meeting  naturally  comes 
later  in  the  session.  The  assistant  is  better  situ- 
ated than  any  one  else  to  act  as  host,  and  to  him 
that  position  properly  belongs.  The  seating  of 
new  scholars  on  arrival  should  be  attended  to 
in  the  same  way,  the  superintendent  greeting  and 
locating  them  as  the  classes  begin  their  work. 

The    proper    distribution    of    song    books    and 
Bibles,  and  helping  the  teachers  to  secure  general 


70  Thk  Organized 

participation  in  the  opening  and  dosing  exercises, 
can  be  better  attended  to  by  the  assistant  super- 
intendent than  by  any  one  else.  In  spite  of  all 
precautions,  books  will  become 

Distributing  congested    here    and    there    all 

the  Tools.  *=      ,  ,        , 

over  the  school,  while  many 
pupils  will  look  about  them  for  books  in  vain. 
The  quick  eye  of  an  attentive  assistant  will  enable 
him  to  adjust  these  inequalities  without  delay  or 
jar.  There  always  are  teachers,  too,  who  fail  to 
apprehend  the  real  importance  of  attention  to 
details,  and  this  shortcoming  may  be  provided 
against  to  quite  an  extent  by  the  unostentatious 
activity  of  an  alert  assistant.  That  officer  does 
good  work,  too,  when  he  tenders  a  song  book, 
opened  at  the  proper  place,  to  the  stranger,  or 
to  the  slow  pupil  under  his  immediate  observa- 
tion. A  moment's  reflection  will  show  that  the 
superintendent  who  has  gone  through  this  kind 
of  an  apprenticeship  undertakes  the  duties  of  his 
office  under  much  more  favorable  auspices  than 
the  individual  who  comes  from  the  pew  to  the 
desk  altogether  untrained. 

A  Sunday  school  is  frequently  in  need  of  more 
than    one   assistant    superintendent.      The    duties 
already  outlined  indicate  that  with  a  large  attend- 
ance    they     may     become    too 

The  Number  ^  ^^    ^^     successfully    dis- 

of  Assistants.  ,  ,       ,  .,..,, 

charged     by     one     individual. 

The  number  of  assistants  required  is  contingent 

upon  the  size  of  the  school,  but  there  should  be 

at  least  one  to  every  hundred  of  attendance,  and 

more  may  sometimes  be  needed.     The  efficiency 


Sunday  Schooi.  71 

of  the  organization  may  be  promoted  by  placing 
an  assistant  in  charge  of  each  department,  includ- 
ing the  Home  Department,  in  which  case  the 
number  would  usually  have  to  be  increased.  In 
cases  where  departments  are  thus  placed  in  the 
hands  of  assistants  it  is  of  course  understood  that 
the  assistants  are  amenable  to  the  general  man- 
agement. The  woman  in  charge  of  the  Primary 
Department  (and  this  officer  is  naturally  a 
woman),  generally  known  as  the  primary  super- 
intendent, is  also  an  assistant  superintendent. 
Her  duties  are  of  such  a  character  as  to  render 
her  department  in  a  sense  independent  of  the 
main  school ;  yet  to  carry  out  the  idea  of  eff'ective 
organization  her  relation  to  the  superintendent  is 
necessarily  the  same  as  that  of  her  fellow  assist- 
ants, although  she  must  be  relieved  of  special 
connection  with  other  work,  already  outlined, 
which  assistants  should  usually  perform. 

Both  sexes  should  be  called  into  service  as  as- 
sistant superintendents.     There  is  perhaps  not  a 
school  in  which  this  position  cannot  be  especially 
well  filled  by  women,  and  very 
often    better    by    women    than         °  ^    exes 

Needed. 

by  anybody  else.  If  more  than 
one  assistant  is  needed  it  is  well  to  call  both 
sexes  to  the  office.  As  a  superintendent  who  has 
tested  the  matter  conclusively,  I  want  to  testify 
that  the  assistance  and  counsel  of  a  bright,  con- 
secrated, resourceful  woman  is  invaluable.  As  a 
helper  to  the  teachers  of  the  younger  classes  she 
is  beyond  comparison,  and  in  preparing  for  special 
days  and  public   Sunday  school  occasions  she  is 


72  Thk  Organized 

a  host  in  herself.  Best  of  all,  she  is  reliability 
itself,  and  where  the  average  good  sort  of  a  man 
will  fail  in  an  undertaking  she  will  bring  it  to 
a  triumphant  conclusion. 

The  superintendent  should  be  consulted  in  the 
choice  of  the  assistant  superintendents  as  well 
as  of  the  other  officers  of  the  school.     To  do  the 

best    work    he    must    have    the 
Selecting  hearty    co-operation    of   people 

the  Cabinet.  1  rr       ,     i     . 

certam  to  afford  that  co-opera- 
tion. He  may  not  know  just  who  can  best  be 
depended  upon  in  this  particular,  but  he  is  more 
likely  than  anybody  else  to  possess  this  knowl- 
edge. A  school  is  sometimes  placed  in  the  em- 
barrassing situation  of  having  chosen  a  superin- 
tendent by  a  barely  sufficient  vote,  and  feeling  the 
necessity  of  electing  as  an  assistant  a  rival  can- 
didate who  desired  the  office.  Such  an  election 
is  seldom  productive  of  good  results.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  a  barely  elected  superintendent 
should  accept  office,  unless  certain  that  there  is 
no  feeling  lying  back  of  an  apparent  acquiescence 
in  the  result,  or  under  any  conditions  which  prac- 
tically compel  a  "compromise"  in  the  make-up  of 
the  remainder  of  the  official  board.  It  is  not 
meant  by  this  that  the  superintendent  should 
insist  on  naming  the  remaining  officers ;  only  that 
he  should  be  so  far  consulted  as  to  insure  an 
absence  of  friction  in  the  new  arrangement,  and 
to  give  a  fair  presumption  of  efficient  help.  It 
is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  one  could  enter 
heartily  upon  the  duties  of  this  office  without  the 
reasonable  expectation  of  this  help. 


Sunday  School  73 


CHAPTER  X. 

SUNDAY    SCHOOL    MUSIC    AND    ITS    MAKERS. 

At  several  points  in  these  pages,  in  connection 
with  the  work  of  the  superintendent,  and  especi- 
ally in  "A  Day  in  the  Sunday  School,"  some 
reference  has  been  made  to  Sunday  school  music. 
This  book  is  not  intended  for  an  exhaustive 
treatise  of  topics  germane  to  Sunday  school 
management,  and  yet  the  subject  of  music 
cannot  well  be  dismissed  without  further  at' 
tention. 

Second  only  to  the  use  of  the  holy  Word,  sing- 
ing must  be  rated  as  the  most  important  part  of 
the   Sunday   school   service.     This   grows   out  of 
its  variety,  its  adaptability  and 
its  restfulness.     Music  can  be        ^^^^^  ^j^*'' 

,  ,      .    ,  Music  Next. 

made  to  serve  a  wonderful 
range  of  uses  in  the  Sunday  school.  It  is  the 
natural  vehicle  of  praise.  It  is  a  most  forcible 
annunciator  of  the  truth.  It  is  an  unfailing 
remedy  for  a  dull  period  or  an  embarrassing 
break  in  the  exercises.  If  appropriate  and  well 
executed  it  swings  everybody  into  positive  sym- 
pathy if  not  into  actual  participation  in  a  single 
item  of  the  service — a  consummation  at  which 
the  thoughtful   superintendent  is  always  aiming. 


74 


The  Organized 


In  short,  it  is  indispensable  all  along  the  line  of 
the  day's  work. 

Sunday  school  music  should  be  both  vocal  and 
instrumental.     The  human  voice  in  concert  sing- 
ing needs  the  guidance  of  and  is  enriched  by  the 
tones    of   piano,    organ,   violin, 
The  Aid  of  the       cornet,     clarionet,     violincello. 
Instrument.  ,       ,  ,       ,  ,i  • 

double   bass,   or  any  other  m- 

strument  capable  of  being  harmonized  with  song. 
Almost  any  Sunday  school  can  have  an  organ. 
With  a  little  effort  many  a  school  can  have  a 
piano,  which  is  better,  and  which  is  the  more 
feasible  since  pianos  have  been  so  greatly  re- 
duced in  price.  With  this  excellent  foundation 
the  close  student  of  a  school's  interests  will  some- 
times be  able  to  add  a  violin,  or  a  cornet,  or 
something  else  to  strengthen  the  music. 

In  organizing  the  music  of  the  Sunday  school 
the  superintendent  should  rely  as  far  as  possible 
upon  the  school's  own  resources.     Outside  talent 
should  not  be  called  in  unless 
The  School's         1^     g^^^i^   calling  it  can  be  in- 
Own  Music.  ,      .  ,  ,       , 
corporated     mto     the     school. 

Great  possibilities  in  musical  organization  lie 
within  the  reach  of  many  schools  in  which  their 
presence  is  hardly  suspected.  An  orchestra, 
which  may  be  made  very  useful,  is  often  form- 
able  out  of  purely  local  material  which  is  only 
awaiting  the  incentive  of  competent  leadership. 
Besides  the  good  connected  with  the  music  itself, 
to  interest  young  people  especially  in  it  is  to  tie 
them  fast  to  the  work. 

A  good  supply  of  song  books  is  indispensable. 


Sunday  SchooIv  75 

That  school   only  is  zvcll  equipped   which  has  a 
number   of   books   at   least   equal   to   its   average 
attendance;  and  in  no  case  should  the  supply  be 
so    short    as    to    provide    less 
than    one    book    for    each    two       H^^e  Plenty 

.  of  Books 

persons.     It  is  really  unsafe  to 
depend,  if  good  singing  is  desired,  even  on  one 
book  to  two  people,  as  the  distribution  must  be 
perfect    if    all    are    able    to    sing — a    distribution 
somewhat  difficult  to  secure. 

It  is  not  a  question  of  whether  this  or  that 
individual  sings  or  can  sing.  The  ability  to  sing 
is  an  incident  of  which  the  superintendent  and 
his  aids  should  seem  to  be  not 

,  'T-i  .  r        Whether  People 

cognizant.       I  he    courtesy    of      ^.  ^^  . 

being  offered  a  book  is  appre- 
ciated, and  even  if  the  book  is  at  once  laid  on 
the  seat  unused  the  officers'  part  in  the  matter 
has  not  been  lost.  It  is  not  infrequently  the 
case  that  the  people  who  from  constitutional  dif- 
ficulty or  lack  of  training  do  not  sing,  follow 
with  their  eyes  the  course  of  the  song  on  the 
page.  The  close  observer  will  discover,  too,  that 
many  of  these,  especially  if  they  be  elderly  people, 
who  are  so  often  overlooked  in  matters  of  this 
kind,  listen  with  moist  eyes  and  evident  feeling 
to  the  words  swelling  from  the  throats  of  the 
younger  people  around  them. 

The  vocal  music  of  a  Sunday  school  is  much 
the  better  of  being  led  by  a  precentor,  or  by  a 
choir,  though  the  precentor  is  preferable.  If 
neither  of  these  is  available  a  class  of  strong 
singers  can  be  placed  to  advantage  in  a  position 
not  too   far   from   the   instrument   and   where   it 


76  Thk  Organized 

can  most  affect  the  general  singing.  These  are 
matters  which  can  be  arranged  only  with  refer- 
ence to  the  make-up  of  the  school,  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  room  or  rooms,  and  other  circum- 
stances of  a  purely  local  character. 

There  are  of  course  more  or  less  songs  in 
most  of  the  song  books  which  have  little  charac- 
ter.    Some  of  them  are  meaningless  words  set  to 

easy,   catchy  jingles,   and   con- 
Meaningless  ^^    definite    idea    to    the 

smger  or  hearer.  1  his  stylr 
of  composition  is  much  less  characteristic  of  Sun- 
day school  music  now,  though,  than  it  was  a 
generation  ago.  The  schools,  while  dearer  than 
ever  to  the  children,  are  enrolling  adults  as 
never  before,  and  musical  composers  have  risen 
to  the  needs  of  the  occasion.  Songs  full  of 
truth,  simplicity  and  sweetness,  dignified  and 
soul-stirring,  in  which  old  and  young  can  alike 
join  with  enthusiasm  and  delight,  now  abound. 
As  has  already  been  said,  the  selections  of 
music  to  be  sung  should  be  made  with  reference 
to  the  thought  of  the  lesson  of  the  day.     With 

the    fine    collections    of    songs 
The  Adapta-         ^^^  available  these  selections 

tion  of  Music.  ,      ,-     , 

can  be  well  made  if  the  neces- 
sary time  is  given  to  that  work.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  limit  to  the  special  adaptation  of  music, 
which  should  be  kept  in  view.  The  lesson  of  the 
day  may  be  one  for  which  there  is  no  stirring 
music,  or  no  music  with  which  the  school  is 
familiar;  and  in  either  event  it  will  be  necessary 
to   make   corresponding   allowance  in   the   selec- 


Sunday  Schooi,  77 

tions.  There  should  be  variety  in  the  character 
of  the  music,  too,  the  march  style,  so  popular 
with  the  children — and  with  adults  as  well — being 
interspersed  with  those  songs  of  deep,  tender 
sentiment  which  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  human 
heart. 

There  can  hardly  be  a  serious  difference  of  opin- 
ion as  to  how  Sunday  school  music  should  be 
rendered.  A  something  whose  presence  or  ab- 
sence is  easily  discovered,  but 

which    is    not    easily    described,        T^^  Rendering 

11,  •     1     -r  of  Music. 

IS  absolutely  essential  if  a  song 
is  to  perform  the  office  for  which  it  is  intended. 
This  something  is  a  kind  of  esprit  de  corps  which 
marks  the  entire  exercise.  Who  can  tell  just 
how  this  is  to  be  secured?  Or  who  does  not 
know  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  characteristic 
of  one  song  and  entirely  missing  from  the  next? 
A  nice  adjustment  of  the  "time"  in  which  a 
song  is  sung  has  much  to  do  with  its  effective- 
ness. If  sung  too  rapidly  it  is  a  breathless,  un- 
dignified and  often  ridiculous  hurrying  to  a 
calamitous  ending.  If  sung  too  slowly — which 
is  the  more  common  fault  of  the  two — it  is  dull, 
dispirited  and  depressing.  Draggy  singing  is  a 
narcotic  which  if  steadily  administered  to  a  Sun- 
day school  will  deaden  its  energies  and  empty 
its  chairs. 

The  singing  should  include  the  voices  of  the 
largest  possible  proportion  of  those  present.  A 
good  choice  of  music  is  an  indispensable  begin- 
ning for  so  desirable  an  end.  This  choice, 
though,   is  only  a  beginning.     The   work  of  the 


78  The  Organized 

teacher   can   right   here   be   made   most   effective. 
A  word  from  the  teacher  when  the  song  is  an- 
nounced   will    do    much    toward    bringing    every 
pupil    into    line    with    an    open 

The  Teacher  ^^^^^        j^^     ^  participa- 

and  the  Singmg.  r     ^i,        ^        i.  •        li. 

tion  of  the  teacher  m  the 
singing  is  another  progressive  step.  An  encour- 
aging nod,  or  a  suggestion  as  to  the  place,  or 
the  sharing  of  a  book  with  a  hesitating  member 
of  the  class,  may  accomplish  wonders.  A  teacher 
who  does  not  sing  needs  a  better  reason  for 
sitting  silent  than  any  other  member  of  the 
school.  The  influence  of  the  superintendent  in 
securing  results,  in  singing  as  in  many  other 
things,  ends  just  where  the  teacher  may  take  up 
the  v/ork  and  carry  it  to  a  gratifying  success. 

A  volunteer  song  day  will  once  in  a  while  be 
enjoyed  by  the  school.  Let  it  be  announced  on  a 
Sunday  that  on  the  following  Sunday  the  songs 

will    be    of   the    school's    own 
A  Volunteer         selection,  any  one's  choice  be- 

Song  Day.  .  ,        ttti  i  • 

mg  honored.  When  the  time 
arrives  call  for  a  volunteer  number,  accept  the 
first  offered,  sing  only  a  few  verses,  and  call 
for  the  next.  In  order  to  save  time  it  is  well 
to  begin  in  each  case  without  instrumental  pre- 
lude, having  only  the  chords  sounded  on  the 
piano  as  a  guide.  A  number  of  songs  may  thus 
be  rendered  in  a  short  time,  they  are  sung  most 
heartily,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  members 
of  the  school  are  on  the  alert  to  get  places  for 
their  favorites. 

The    impressiveness    of    a    Bible    reading    may 


Sunday  School  79 

be  very  much  enhanced  by  having  a  few  chosen 
singers  ready  to  sing  (usually  softly),  without 
announcement,  after  the  reading  of  a  verse  or 
a     collection     of     verses,     the 

Song  in  Bible 

same    verse    or    verses    para-      „    °. 

.  A  ^        Readings. 

phrased  m  song.  A  great 
many  of  our  hymns  and  songs  are  especially 
suited  to  this  purpose.  A  good  illustration  of 
this  is  a  combination  of  the  story  of  Jacob's 
ladder,  in  the  28th  chapter  of  Genesis,  and 
"Nearer,   my   God,   to   thee." 

A  concert  exercise  in  reading  a  song  just  be- 
fore singing  may  sometimes  be  introduced  with 
good    effect.      It    may    contain    the    exact    point 
which  it  is  sought  in  a  review 
to  make  clear.    It  is  altogether      What  Does  a 

,     ,  Song  Mean? 

a  question  of  the  song  and  the 

occasion,  and  should  rather  be  an  inspiration  than 
a  planned  exercise. 

A   song   is   sometimes   such   a   thorough   expo- 
sition  of  a   text   apposite   to  the   lesson   that   to 
have  the  text  read  by  an  individual   or  a  class, 
on   signal,    immediately   before 
singing,  is  a  great  help  in  im-       '^^^  Reading 

1  ,  ,  of  a  Song. 

pressing  a  lessons  truths. 
Besides,  it  leads  thoughtless  people  to  see  that 
songs  are  written  for  a  purpose,  a  circumstance 
which  many  good  Sunday  school  members  even 
are  prone  to  overlook.  It  is  a  good  thing  thus 
to  bring  to  the  front  as  occasion  may  suggest 
the  gospel  with  which  many  a  good  song  abounds. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  pre- 
centor as  being  preferable  to  a  choir  for  leading 


So  Thk  Organized 

Sunday  school  music.  This  is  because  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  organize  and  sustain  a  good  choir,  be- 
cause the  school  is  apt  to  depend  too  largely  on 

the  choir  to  do  its  music-mak- 
The  Precen-  jj^g^  ^^^  because  the  precentor 

who  leads  a  choir  will  rarely 
succeed  at  the  same  time  in  getting  a  large 
body  of  young  people  to  sing  well.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  it  is  the  business  of  the 
precentor  not  so  much  to  personally  lead  the 
music  as  to  lead  others  in  making  the  music. 
The  unwritten  law  which  guides  every  other  of- 
ficer of  the  Sunday  school  in  his  work — the  secur- 
ing of  the  maximum  of  participation — appeals 
especially  to  the  leader  of  the  music. 

How  important  then  is  his  office !  How  es- 
sential that  he  be  always  at  his  post ! — that  he 
be  untiringly  patient  with  his  charge ! — that  his 
personality  inspire  confidence ! — that  he  see  be- 
yond mechanical  effect  into  the  spiritual  sig- 
nificance of  his  work ! — that  he  know  music ! — 
that  he  be  in  the  closest  sympathy  with  his 
superintendent ! — that  he  be  absorbed  in  his 
duties ! — that  he  be  possessed  of  a  contagious  en- 
thusiasm ! 

The  other  leader  in  Sunday  school  music — the 
organist    or    pianist — is    an    individual    on    whom 

much    more    depends    than    is 
The  Organist        sometimes      understood.       Be- 

or  Pianist. 

sides  studymg  and  mastermg 
all  the  phases  of  the  music  problem  which  have 
been  discussed,  requiring  an  amount  of  home 
work  which  is  equaled  only  by  the  home  work  of 


Sunday  Schooi.  8i 

the  superintendent,  this  officer  must  be  unflinch- 
ingly faithful  and  always  on  duty.  This  faithful- 
ness is  indispensable.  The  one  guaranty  that  the 
work  of  the  organist  is  less  liable  to  suffer  from 
neglect  than  any  other  work  in  the  school  is 
that  it  is  performed  by  the  sex  whose  loyalty  to 
Sunday  school  duty,  when  that  duty  is  recognized 
at  all,  is  its  special  characteristic.  All  honor  to 
the  young  women  who  uncomplainingly  and  de- 
voutly give  themselves  up  to  this  arduous,  weary- 
ing and  too  often  thankless  duty! 


82  Thk  Organized 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   SECRETARY. 

The  officers  whose  duties  we  have  so  far  been 

considering    have   had    to    do    with   all    branches 

of    Sunday    school    work — the    educational,    the 

spiritual   and   the   business   in- 

An  Important       ^        ^        £  ^j      many-sided   in^ 

Officer.  .        .  rr^,  ^ 

stitution.  The  officer  whom 
we  are  now  to  consider  would  seem  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  last  named  field,  and  yet  his  work 
is  so  closely  identified  with  and  so  necessary  to 
the  other  and  leading  parts  that  it  cannot  be 
dissociated  from  them.  In  fact  the  importance 
of  the  secretary's  office  is  generally  much  under- 
estimated, to  the  great  cost  of  Sunday  school 
efficiency. 

The  secretary  is  the  official  head  of  the  record 
system  of  the  entire  school.  Good  and  continu- 
ously effective  work  cannot  be  done  without  data 

from  which  can  be  learned  just 
The    chooi  what  has  been  done,  and  upon 

Leans  on  Him. 

which  may  be  predicated  the 
possibilities  and  probabilities  of  future  work; 
and  to  the  secretary  we  must  look  for  these  data. 
The  school  management  is  in  position  to  act 
intelligently  or  otherwise,  according  as  the  sec- 
retary rises  or  fails  to  rise  to  the  full  measure 


Sunday  Schooi.  83 

of  his  responsibility.  This  officer,  who  may  be 
of  either  sex,  therefore  needs  a  full  appreciation 
of  what  is  being  undertaken.  Too  often  he  is 
utterly  lacking  in  this  appreciation. 

The  secretary   should  be  in  very  close   touch 
with  the  teachers,  and  their  work  on  the  class- 
books  should  be  under  his  immediate  supervision 
and  exactly  in  accordance  with 
his    instructions.      He    cannot        Gliding  the 

ill  11  Teachers. 

reasonably  be  expected  to  be 
responsible  for  results  unless  he  can  insist  upon 
such  class-book  work  as  will  secure  results.  The 
market  is  full  of  class-books,  some  of  them  much 
better  than  others;  but  with  any  of  them  fairly 
satisfactory  work  may  be  done  if  undertaken  in- 
telligently and  followed  out  systematically.  The 
go-as-you-please,  any  kind  of  marking  with  which 
teachers  who  should  and  do  know  better  destroy 
all  possibility  of  useful  records  is  an  evil  for 
which  teachers  should  be  held  responsible,  and 
which  the  secretary  should  be  empowered  to  cor- 
rect. 

Did  you   ever  have  occasion  to  go  back  over 
the  individual   record   of  a  pupil   for  a  term   of 
years?     And  if  so,   have  you  not   found  it  dif- 
ficult, as  many  class-books  are 
kept,    to   get    at    all    the    facts      Tracking  up 

a  Pupil, 
desired?        When     the     great 

variety  of  people  who  find  their  way  into  the 
ranks  of  teachers,  and  the  many  kinds  of  class 
members  who  are  made  secretaries,  are  taken 
into  consideration,  it  is  hardly  singular  that  the 
ordinary  class  record  should  be  a  somewhat  crude 


84  Thk  Organized 

affair.  It  is  not  only  those  unfamiliar  with  the 
simplest  bookkeeping,  though,  who  make  up 
these  unsatisfactory  records,  but  business  men 
who  in  everything  else  are  exact  and  careful  will 
often  keep  class-books  the  meaning  of  which  it 
is  difficult  to  decipher.  It  is  another  illustration 
of  the  prevalent  idea  that  it  signifies  but  little 
how  things  are  done  in  the  Sunday  school.  But 
what  a  satisfaction  it  is  to  look  up  the  detail 
work  of  an  active  class  in  a  series  of  well  kept 
books  covering  a  term  of  years ! 

There  is,  by  the  way,  a  generally  overlooked 
positive  evil  in  connection  with  class  records 
which  should  not  be  passed  over  in  this  discus- 
sion.   The  teacher  of  the  class 

.  J^^^o"^     .  M      with  a  "good  record"  will  catch 

"Good  Record."         ,  ,  ^  ^,        ..  , 

the  pomt  at  once.  The  good 
record"  of  a  class  in  most  schools  is  based  on 
conditions  which  tend  to  curtail  the  aggressive 
work  of  the  class.  This  is  of  course  an  in- 
advertence, and  the  superintendent  finds  him- 
self called  upon  to  solve  the  conundrum  of  why 
a  class  with  an  especially  good  record  often  fails 
to  grow  at  all.  The  trouble  lies  in  the  standard 
by  which  the  work  of  the  class  is  measured. 
This  is  usually  its  enrollment.  Now  please  note 
carefully :  Attendance  is  either  good  or  bad  ac- 
cording as  it  measures  up  well  or  poorly  with 
the  class  roll.  The  aggressive  class  is  always 
getting  new  people  on  its  books,  and  some  of 
these  are  almost  certain  to  be  irregular  in  attend- 
ance. The  more  vigorous  the  outside  work  of 
the    class,    therefore,    the    worse    is    its    record. 


Sunday  Schooi<  85 

Pupils  soon  learn  that  the  perfect  class  record 
is  secured  only  by  having  a  limited  membership, 
and  this  composed  of  class  veterans.  Have  you 
not  often  heard  boys  and  girls  say  that  some 
uncertain  one  is  not  wanted  in  the  class,  as  the 
enrollment  of  that  one  will  "spoil  the  record"? 

While    doing   everything   possible   to    stimulate 
good  individual  records,  let  a  different  standard 
for  class  work  be  set  up.     Ignore  the  roll-book 
altogether    in    estimating   class 
Stan  dm g,  and  take  the  average  eme  ying 

*"  .     °  an  Evil. 

attendance  of  the  class  m  a 
given  period  as  the  basis  of  measurement  of 
growth.  If  the  class  had  six  present  on  an  aver- 
age in  the  last  quarter,  and  has  eight  present  in 
this  one,  its  attendance  has  gained  one-third, 
and  as  a  class  it  has  done  much  better  work.  In 
doing  this  it  may  have  increased  its  enrollment 
one-half,  and  its  record  from  that  standpoint 
would  be  poorer  than  before.  It  is  not  what  its 
book  shows  but  what  its  scats  contain  that  meas- 
ures the  field  work  of  a  class.  The  books,  though, 
measure  the  individual.  To  measure  the  class 
in  the  same  way  is  to  discourage  missionary  work 
altogether.  If  the  reader  has  not  caught  the 
spirit  and  meaning  of  this  paragraph  let  me  urge 
a  continuous  study  of  it  until  it  is  understood; 
for  in  it  is  involved  a  vital  principle  in  Sunday 
school  work. 

The  teacher  who  studies  the  situation  carefully 
will  discover  that  when  a  class  can  be  thoroughly 
enlisted  in  competition  with  its  own  record  a 
high  order  of  work  may  be  expected.     The  in- 


86  Thk  Organized 

dividual  who  is  always  aiming  to  beat  his  own 
record — not  somebody  else's — is  aiming  high. 
And  so  it  is  with  the  class.  And  so  it  is  with 
the  Sunday  school.  You  can  appeal  to  nothing 
more  effective  than  this. 

A    time   is    coming    when    progressive    Sunday 

school    workers    will   not   be   satisfied    with    such 

class-books  as  we  now  have.     The  worker  must 

know,  and  the  personal  interest 

An  Up-to-date      ^£    officer,    teacher    and    pupil 

Class-book.  ,  ,  11^ 

must  be   strongly  appealed  to, 

if  the  best  work  is  to  be  done.  The  usual  type 
of  class-book  never  presents  in  comprehensive 
form  the  record  of  an  individual.  To  get  at 
this  one  must  follow  him  through  page  after 
page  and  class-book  after  class-book — and  when 
it  is  all  done  only  a  few  facts  about  one  or  two 
phases  of  his  Sunday  school  life  are  known. 
What  is  the  remedy?  Why,  it  is  a  class-book 
giving  a  full  page  to  each  pupil,  and  arranging 
that  page  to  hold  the  pupil's  record  for  a  full 
year.  That  page  will  show  the  pupil's  attendance 
on  a  given  Sunday;  whether  regular  or  irregular, 
prompt  or  tardy;  whether  he  made  a  contribu- 
tion ;  whether  he  knew  anything  about  the  lesson ; 
and  whether  he  brought  any  visitors  or  new 
scholars  to  any  class  in  the  school.  The  page 
will  also  summarize  his  work  for  the  year,  show- 
ing among  other  things  just  how  many  Sundays 
his  new  scholars  attended,  and  giving  him  credit 
for  every  such  attendance.  There  is  an  accom- 
panying scale  of  points  by  which  this  'compre- 
hensive personal  record  is  footed  up,  making  a 
cumulative  record  which  should  be  most  stimulat- 


Sunday  School.  87 

ing.    The  great  weakness  of  getting  new  scholars 
is  that  those  who  bring  them  too  often  abandon 
them    when    brought.      This    class-book   provides 
against  this  shortcoming.    Such 
a    class-book    has    been    orig-     '^^^  Scholar- 

,  ,        ,  .  1,7        bringer  on  Duty, 

mated  by  the  writer,  and  while 

this  is  not  intended  as  an  advertisement  for  it, 
the  forward  step  is  of  such  importance  as  to 
justify  its  mention  in  this  connection. 

A  graphic  representation  of  the  attendance  of 
a  class  or  a   school,   which   can  be  shown   on  a 
chart  on  the  wall   of  the   Sunday  school   room, 
in     comparison     with     former 
years,  is  always  a  stimulus  to      ^.    ^^^^^^ 

.  T      .  ,      ,  .  Picture. 

exertion.  It  is  a  good  thing 
to  compare  an  individual  with  himself,  a  class 
with  itself,  a  school  with  itself,  a  church  with 
itself.  I  kept  up  a  graphic  chart  of  school  at- 
tendance for  a  number  of  years,  and  it  was  very 
helpful  and  very  suggestive  in  planning  school 
work.  The  chart  is  a  large  manila  sheet  with 
fifty-two  perpendicular  spaces  running  its  entire 
length  from  top  to  bottom,  representing  Sundays. 
Horizontal  lines  crossing  these  make  spaces  in- 
dicating numbers  in  attendance  as  marked  on  the 
margin.  Beginning  at  the  bottom  with  a  number 
about  the  minimum  attendance  of  the  school,  the 
numbers  are  regularly  increased  on  the  margin 
until  the  top  of  the  chart  is  reached.  If,  for 
instance,  the  attendance  the  first  Sunday  in  Janu- 
ary is  150,  a  line  is  to  be  begun  in  the  center 
of  the  little  square  in  the  left  Sunday  column 
opposite  the  figure  150.     If  the  next  Sunday's  at- 


88  Thk  Organized 

tendance  be  greater  the  line  will  be  drawn  diagon- 
ally upward  to  the  space  opposite  that  figure  and 
in  the  second  column.  If  the  attendance  should 
fall  off  the  line  would  take  a  downward  diagonal 
course.  By  using  different  colors  of  ink  for 
different  years  for  the  zigzag  lines  thus  formed 
a  very  interesting  chart  can  be  produced.  Figure 
I  shows  how  this  chart  may  be  made. 

All  of  the  record  work  of  which  mention  has 
been  made  falls  of  course  within  the  province 
of  the  secretary.  Out  of  all  the  data  gathered 
from  the  various  available  sources  the  records  in 
the  secretary's  book  are  made.  There  are  a 
number  of  good  books  within  reach  which  are 
well  adapted  to  this  purpose ;  but  they  are  of 
little  account  unless  the  individual  who  uses  them 
does  so  intelligently.  His  summary  is  the  final 
evidence  of  the  secretary's  grade  as  an  officer. 

As  intimated  in  another  chapter  the  secretary's 

weekly   report    can   be   placed   before   the    school 

much  more  satisfactorily  than  by  its  being  read. 

Get    a    large    blackboard    and 

Better'^Wa  ^^^^'^  ^  painter  rule  it  off  neatly 

in   columns  and   spaces   suited 

to    the   record    intended    to    be    posted.      Proper 

headings  may  be  painted  in  at  the  tops  of  the 

columns,  as  may  also  any  other  wording  intended 

to  be  permanent.     The  classes  may  be  listed  on 

this   board,   and  their  attendance   reported   every 

Sunday.      Spaces    for   the    Sundays   of  a   month 

may  be  left,  with  a  space  for  the  same  Sunday 

of    the    preceding    year.      The    summary    of    the 

school  may  be  recorded  in  the  same  way,  with  the 


Sunday  Schooi, 


89 


ATTENDANCE  CHART. 


|miit|M»itHW'i!lfffta4!ltWI 

liliiflfifMM 

HfclMlWlM 

90  Thb:  Organized 

total  of  collections.  I  have  used  such  a  board  for 
a  number  of  years.  For  plan  of  this  blackboard 
see  Figure  2. 

Faithful    members    of    a    Sunday    school    are 
often    away    from    home,    and    while    away    dis- 
charge their   Sunday   school   duties   as   best  they 
may    by    attendance    at    other 
Caring  for  schools.       There      should     be 

the  Absent.  -      ,  .  , 

some  way  of  keepmg  the 
records  of  these  good  people  intact  on  the  books 
of  the  home  school.  The  secretary  can  provide 
for  this  by  having  small  cards  printed,  containing 
a  blank  certificate  to  the  effect  that  the  bearer 
(giving  the  name)  was  in  attendance  at  some 
other  school  on  a  certain  day,  and  signed  by  a 
teacher  or  officer  of  the  visited  school.  The 
presentation  of  this  card  to  the  home  secretary 
will  make  the  record  good.  Those  leaving  home 
should    supply  themselves   with   these   cards. 

It  is  a  thoughtful  and  appreciated  attention  to 
one  removing  from  the  local  school  for  the  sec- 
retary to  furnish  the  departing  member   with   a 
certificate    or    letter    of    intro- 
Finding  a  duction  to  some  Sunday  school 

New  Home.  .  .  1  •   1     1 

m  the  community  to  which  he 

is  going.  On  arriving  at  the  new  place  the  hope 
of  finding  friends  is  likely  to  induce  the  new- 
comer to  at  once  look  up  a  Sunday  school.  Un- 
der other  conditions,  unless  quite  zealous,  he  may 
carelessly  lose  all  his  connection  with  Sunday 
school  interests.  The  absolute  loss  to  the  Sun- 
day school  community  through  changes  of  resi- 
dence is  enormous. 


Sunday  Schooi.  91 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  TREASURER  AND  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  FINANCES. 

In  a  very  small   Sunday  school  there  is  little 

occasion  to  create  the  separate  and  distinct  office 

of  treasurer,  for  the  functions  of  such  an  office 

can    be    easily    discharged    by 

the  secretary.     Even  in  larger        ^^  ^  T/^T,.  a 
■'  urer  Needed  ? 

schools    it    may    sometnnes    be 

the  case  that  such  an  official  combination  is  ad- 
visable. However,  on  the  ground  that  work 
will  be  more  satisfactorily  done  to  which  un- 
divided attention  is  given  it  is  perhaps  better  to 
usually  have  a  treasurer  who  has  no  other  special 
Sunday  school  responsibility.  To  this  statement 
should  be  added  the  qualification  that  the  treasurer 
may  be  useful  and  needed  provided  he  under- 
take to  become  something  more  than  a  figure- 
head in  his  position.  If  he  is  to  do  nothing  more 
than  receive,  care  for  and  expend  the  small 
pittance  which  the  representative  Sunday  school 
places  weekly  in  his  hands,  it  matters  little 
whether  his  special  office  be  created  or  not. 

But  is  the  treasurer  to  do  nothing  more  than 
this?  •  He  certainly  has  a  broader  duty.  He  has 
a  special  interest  in  an  educational  work  only 
less  important  than  that  committed  to  the  super- 


92  The  Organized 

intendent.     The   Christian   Church   may   be   said 

to   have   never   learned   to   give.     It    never    will 

properly   receive  and   retain   this   lesson   until   it 

is    first    well    learned    in    the 

^.^  ^A",*^^',  Sunday    school ;    and    it   never 

tionalWork.  .,11,1  j    •      .u      c       j 

Will  be  learned  in  the  Sunday 

school  until  it  is  taught  there.  If  our  churches 
are  to  give  as  they  should  there  must  be  a  thor- 
ough revolution  in  the  Sunday  school  in  this 
particular.  The  treasurer,  acting  with  the  super- 
intendent and  the  official  board,  must  plan  for 
better  things,  and  in  this  way  give  to  his  office 
its  proper  meaning  and  character. 

Two  distinct  objects  should  be  kept  in  view  in 
the  financial  management  of  the  Sunday  school- 
first,    the    establishing    of    a    system    of    revenues 

which   shall   easily   sustain  the 
Two  Objects  ^^^y.  q£  ^j^g  g^j^QQi  ^^  ^  ^j.Q^^ 

in  Finances.  ,         ,         .  ,     .  . 

scale,    leaving    a    balance    for 

benevolences;  and,  second,  the  forming  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  habit  of  regular  and  systematic 
giving.  The  first  is  usually  regarded  as  the  more 
important  point — in  fact  is  the  only  one  ordinarily 
receiving  specific  attention ;  while  the  second  is 
too  often  held,  if  thought  of  at  all,  as  only  in- 
cidental. 

A  little  reflection  will  convince  almost  any  one 

that   this    order   of  things    should    be   reversed — 

not  that  it  is  not  essential  that 

The  First  ^     g^j^^^j     ^^     ^^U     sustained 

Consideration.        ^  .    ,,       ,  ,         .      . 

financially,  but  that  it  is  more 

important  that  its  members  be  trained  into  regular 

giving    to    the    Lord.      The     Sunday    school    is 

primarily    an    educational     institution,    and    the 


Sunday  SchooIv  93 

pocket  must  not  be  forgotten  while  looking  after 
the  head  and  the  heart.  The  two  objects  in 
giving  are  not  only  thoroughly  compatible,  how- 
ever, but  each  is  indispensable  to  the  healthy 
development  of  the  other. 

Having  been  furnished  with  the  necessary  room 
or  rooms,  with  the  heat,  light  and  janitor  service 
accorded  to  all  societies  and  departments  of  the 
church,     together     with     such 

,•  ,  •  ,  Ml       Now  Take  Care 

rudimentary  equipment  as  will 

barely  suffice  for  a  beginning, 
the  Sunday  school  should  then  be  thrown  upon 
its  own  financial  resources.  Just  as  the  young 
eaglet  is  pushed  from  the  nest  on  the  crag,  and 
compelled  to  sustain  itself  in  mid  air,  although 
the  watchful  parent  hovers  near  to  protect,  so 
there  is  a  point  at  which  the  officers  of  the  church 
should  cease  to  officially  supply  funds  for  the 
Sunday  school,  although  always  watchful  to  pre- 
vent unforeseen  disaster.  The  school  needs  the 
responsibility  thus  placed  upon  its  shoulders,  and 
will  derive  strength  from  the  necessity  of  self- 
reliance. 

The  annual  financial  report  of  many  congre- 
gations will  show  an  item  for  Sunday  school  ex- 
penses. This  may  be  simply  the  making  up  of  a 
deficit.     Or   it  may  be  an  ac- 

r  .-,  ,•  In  the  Church 

counting  of  the  entire  expenses 
of  the  school,  its  total  receipts 
having  been  first  turned  into  the  church  treasury, 
as  is  the  practice  in  some  places.     There  should 
be  no  item  of  this  character  in  the  church  finan- 
cial report,  because  (i)  the  school  does  not  need 


94  'The  Organized 

to  have  a  dericit,  and  (2)  the  practice  of  the 
trustees  appropriating  school  receipts,  and  then 
paying  the  bills,  is  a  needless  complication  of  ac- 
counts, and  is  a  cramping  of  the  development  of 
the  school  in  a  most  important  direction.  A 
statement  of  the  funds  received  and  disbursed  in 
the  Sunday  school  should,  though,  be  made  a 
distinct  division  of  the  annual  financial  report  of 
the  church,  as  showing  more  fully  the  significance 
of  "the  church  at  work." 

A  Sunday  school  should  never  be  called  upon 

to  bear  any  portion   of  the   regular  expenses   of 

the  church.     There  are   schools   here  and  there 

whose  systems  of  finance  have 

A  Misplaced         ^^^^    ^^    developed    that    even 

Burden.  .  •  ^1  u 

after  securmg  a  thorough 
equipment  and  discharging  all  necessary  expenses 
they  have  something  of  a  surplus  remaining.  It 
is  the  custom,  too,  of  some  churches  having  such 
schools  to  draw  upon  them  for  a  part  or  all  of 
this  surplus  for  church  expenses.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a  mistaken  policy.  Surplus  Sunday  school 
funds  should  be  held  sacred  to  missions,  benevo- 
lences, or  some  worthy  object  held  up  for  special 
accomplishment.  The  young  people  need  the 
positive  evidence  that  their  moneys  are  designed 
for  a  clearly  defined  usefulness,  which  is  not  al- 
ways apparent  to  them  when  given  over  for  the 
humdrum  items  of  light,  fuel  and  janitor  service. 
An  effort  should  be  made  to  have  every  mem- 
ber of  the  school  an  unfailingly  regular  contribu- 
tor. Parents  should  see  that  children  are  pro- 
vided for  in  this  particular,  and  adults  and  young 


Sunday  Schooi.  95 

people  whose  incomes  are  under  their  own  con- 
trol should  be  asked  to  name  an  amount  which 
can  certainly  be  contributed  weekly.  No  pressure 
should  be  brought  to   bear  to 

secure  large  contributions,  but      ^^^^^.,    "^  *° 

•   1  •  1        1  ,    1  1  Contribute, 

special   pams   should   be  taken 

to  see  that  the  giving  is  designed  to  be  regular. 

A  pledge  card  may  be  given  to  each  scholar,  and 

on    this    card    the    scholar   may   name    a    specific 

amount,  ranging  from  a  penny  a  week  among  the 

small  children  up  to  several  cents  a  week  among 

adults,  the  contribution  for  Sundays  absent  to  be 

made   good    each    Sunday   following   an    absence. 

There  should  be  no  keeping  of  personal  accounts 

with  those  who  have  given  pledges. 

It  is  very  much  better  for  the  sake  of  the  child 

that  it  give  one  cent  every  Sunday  than  five  cents 

one  Sunday  and  nothing  the  next  three  or  four; 

or  that  the  adult  give  five  or 

ten  cents  weekly  than  twenty-       t,.\.  f,/ 

/  Right  Way. 

five  or  fifty  cents  spasmodic- 
ally, even  if  the  latter  plan  should  bring  in  more 
money.  The  training  incident  to  constant  giv- 
ing, and  the  making  up  for  missed  Sundays,  is  a 
kind  of  lesson  which  can  be  impressed  on  the 
minds  of  children  nowhere  else  so  well  as  in 
the  Sunday  school. 

Leaving  the  special  lesson  aimed  at  out  of  con- 
sideration, however,  much  more  money  is  secured 
by  small  contributions  regularly  given  than  by 
large  contributions  made  according  to  conven- 
ience. This  principle  in  the  support  of  churches 
and  eleemosynary  institutions  has  been  so  often 


96  The  Organized 

and  so  thoroughly  demonstrated  as  to  be  forever 
placed  beyond  question.  Both  the  training  of  the 
children  and  the  desired  financial  results  there- 
fore attest  the  wisdom  of  the  plan  recommended. 

It  is  better  that  Sunday  school  contributions 
be  so  arranged  that  if  a  pupil  cares  to  have  his 
weekly  amount  concealed  from  his  fellows  he 
may  be  able  to  do  so,  while  in  no  case  should 
the  special  amount  given  by  a  member  be 
blazoned  before  the  school  or  in  any  other  than 
an  incidental  way  become  known.  Many  a  boy 
who  can  at  best  give  only  a  few  pennies  feels 
keenly  the  contrast,  which  is  sometimes  inadvert- 
ently made,  of  his  pittance  with  the  amount  given 
by  some  other  boy  whose  supply  of  pocket  money 
is  liberal  and  whose  gift  is  thoughtlessly  tossed 
into  the  envelope. 

For  similar  reasons  the  common  practice  of 
reading  out  or  bulletining  the  collections  of  the 
respective  classes  before  the  school  is  objection- 
able.    Not  only  does  this  often 

No  Embarrass-  ^^^  ^j^^^^^    -^        j^^^j   ^^^_ 

ing  Publicity.  ^  .  .  ,         .         , 

trast,  but  it  may  also  mvolve 
the  sensitive  teacher.  Here,  for  example,  is  a 
wealthy  teacher  the  average  of  whose  class  re- 
turns is  greatly  swelled  by  personal  gifts ;  while 
the  teacher  of  a  class  in  every  way  similar  is 
unable  to  give  correspondingly,  and  the  result 
shows  in  the  reports  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate 
just  where  the  difference  lies.  It  may  be  said 
that  this  kind  of  reporting  is  necessary  as  a 
stimulus  to  the  classes ;  but  experience  proves  the 
claim  to  be  erroneous. 


Sunday  SchooIv  97 

The  treasurer  whose  efforts  contribute  sub- 
stantially toward  establishing  some  such  system 
of  finance  as  has  just  been  discussed,  and  which 
experience  has  shown  to  be  thoroughly  practica- 
ble, performs  a  work  whose  importance  is  certain 
to  reach  far  beyond  his  term  of  service. 


98  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  LIBRARY. 

A  library  is  a  positive  good  in  a  Sunday  school 
under    certain    conditions.      If    these    conditions 
cannot  be  satisfied  it  is  either  a  useless  incum- 
brance    of    school     machinery 
An  Average  ^^^  expense,  or  a  positive  in- 

Impression.  ,  •  i      , 

jury,     and      sometimes     both. 

The  average  Sunday  school  library  is  born  of 
the  impression  that  the  Sunday  school  is  incom- 
plete without  such  an  annex,  is  selected  at  ran- 
dom, is  conducted  without  any  plan  except  to 
see  that  the  books  are  properly  returned  when 
taken  out,  and  bears  no  vital  relation  whatever 
to  the  work  of  the  school.  A  very  large  propor- 
tion of  our  school  libraries  could  be  summarily 
dumped  into  the  waste  barrel  without  in  any 
way  affecting  the  schools  with  which  they  are 
connected. 

The  primary  ostensible   object  of  the   Sunday 
school  library  is  to  assist  in  the  moral  and   re- 
ligious education  of  the  school. 
The  Objects  of      j^^  teacher  in  the  class-room 

a  Library.  ,  ,       ,.  .        ,  .         - 

has  a  leadmg  part  m  this  edu- 
cation. The  librarian  simply  has  charge  of  an- 
other division  which  should  be  supplementary  to 


Sunday  SchooIv  99 

this  first  one — that  is  all.  The  teacher  labors  to 
give  a  proper  turn  to  habit,  to  train  thought  and 
motive,  and  to  establish  character.  The  libra- 
rian's aim  is  to  so  give  a  proper  bent  to  tastes 
in  reading  as  to  work  to  the  same  end. 

The  library  as  we  find  it  places  all  this  as 
secondary,  giving  first  place  to  the  idea  of  en- 
tertainment. This  order  should  be  reversed.  To 
entertain    should    at    most    be 

only  a  secondary  consideration.     ,  ^V^^        ^^ 
^  .  .be  Reversed. 

instruction  must  be  attractive, 
however,  if  successful,  and  education  and  enter- 
tainment   must    therefore    go    together,    an    asso- 
ciation which  is  altogether  proper  as  long  as  the 
latter  is  held  in  a  subordinate  position. 

Of  what  should  the  library  be  composed?  It 
should  be  a  composite  affair,  and  as  cosmopolitan 
in  its  reach  as  is  consistent  with  (i)  the  idea  of 
not  allowing  it  to  drift  too  far  into  lines  not 
strictly  religious,  and  (2)  the  selection  of  such 
books  as  will  really  be  used. 

Biography  should  be  prominent  in  every  library. 
The  true   story  of  the   struggles   of  a   real   man 
or  woman,   if   well   told,   is   fascinating  to   either 
child   or   adult   whose   taste   in 
reading    has    not    become    viti-     Give  Prominence 
^    A        ^u       1-  c         •      ■  *°  Biography. 

ated.  The  lives  of  mission- 
aries, reformers,  Christian  statesmen,  warriors 
and  discoverers,  pure  people  of  any  kind  who 
have  had  enough  of  personality  to  put  meaning 
into  existence,  may  be  introduced  to  advantage. 
Real  people  who  have  done  real  things  of  a  whole- 
some character  appeal  strongly  to  all  that  is 
worthy  in  the  make-up  of  the  reader. 


loo  The  Organized 

A  limited  quantity  of  such  history  as  is  directly 
connected    with   the  progress    of    Christianity   or 
with  the  bettering  of  mankind   should  be  avail- 
able to  the  applicant  for  books. 

Hifto^^  ^""^  ^^^   ^^^^^   qualification    should 

in  most  cases  exclude  such  his- 
tories as  are  published  in  several  volumes,  or 
are  lacking  in  that  crispness  which  distinguishes 
the  dry  enumeration  of  facts  from  the  vitalized 
narrative.  Books  of  this  character,  as  well  as  all 
other  books  in  the  library,  should  be  introduced 
gradually  and  as  a  result  of  an  intelligent  "feeling 
of  the  way." 

In  most  libraries  fiction  takes  precedence  of  all 
else.  Indeed  the  tendency  is  to  give  it  altogether 
undue     prominence.       It     must     be     recognized, 

though,    as    a    factor    in    the 
The  Demand  o       j  11    i-i,  1 

-     ^.    .  Sunday    school    library,    whose 

for  Fiction.  "^       .       .  ■" 

presence    is    just    as    necessary 

as  the  closest  investigation  of  its  character  is 
necessary.  It  is  by  no  means  everybody  that 
will  read  biography  and  history,  but  there  are 
few  who  will  not  read  fiction.  While  books  of 
all  other  kinds  stand  unused  upon  the  shelves, 
fiction  is  in  constant  demand. 

The  gravest  danger  lies  right  here.     It  is  to  be 

feared   that   the   carelessly   agglomerated    Sunday 

school  library  is  polluting  the 

Grave  tastes  of  as  many  as  its  better 

Danger. 

books  are  aiding.  The  sen- 
sational novel,  suggestive  of  everything  but  per- 
sonal purity,  gets  in  side  by  side  with  the  clean 
and    elevating    story,    and    befouls    all    whom    it 


Sunday  School  ioi 

touches.  That  danger  was  never  so  great  as  now. 
We  are  living  in  the  time  when  most  emphatically 
"of  the  making  of  many  books  there  is  no  end." 
They  are  crowding  upon  our  young  people  from 
every  direction.  Many  of  them  are  openly  and 
unquestionably  impure.  Others  covertly  and 
smoothly  present  evil  in  its  most  plausible  light. 
An  author  becomes  famous,  and  each  new  book 
is  rushed  before  the  young  reader  without  critical 
examination  or  special  inquiry  as  to  its  quali- 
fications for  a  place  in  the  Sunday  school  library. 

A  popular  new  novel  under  a  sensational  name 
tells  the  story  of  a  young  minister  led  away  from 
his  boyhood  faith  and  wrecked.  Another  in 
many  respects  excellent  story  places  an  unex- 
pressed, but  clearly  implied  sanction  upon  social 
drinking  habits,  and  gives  its-  hero  an  upward 
turn  in  worldly  affairs  by  uncondemned  gambling 
in  futures.  Should  such  books  be  handed  out 
from  the   Sunday   school   library? 

A  very  popular  style  of  fiction  leads  a  young 
man   through   life   in    wild   and   vicious    courses, 
but   brings    him    to    a    saint's    deathbed.      Indeed 
the  story  of  the  reprobate  who 
barely   gets    into  the   kingdom      PoP"!^'-^"^ 

,  ,  .    r  1      .  ,  r        Demoralizing. 

IS  the  chief  stock  in  trade  of 
many  a  thoughtless  librarian.  There  is  a  dash 
of  spice  in  the  "wild  oats"  life  which  appeals 
very  strongly  to  the  average  boy,  who  argues 
from  observation  and  reading  that  it  is  not  the 
good  boy  who  behaves  himself  all  his  life  who 
is  made  the  hero,  but  the  scapegrace  who  throws 
away  his  bottle  and  his  dice  just  in  time  to  be- 


I02  Thk  Organized 

come  sober  and  put  on  the  robe  and  the  crown. 
All  his  life  the  boy  has  perhaps  heard  his  pas- 
tor exploiting  the  prodigal  son,  who  really  lived 
the  life  of  a  rioter  and  a  beast  until  starvation 
forced  him  back  to  his  father's  house.  He  has 
listened  with  wonder  to  the  magnifying  of  the 
manliness  of  the  prodigal  ingrate,  instead  of  the 
dwelling  on  the  great  love  of  the  Father  who 
could  even  welcome  a  man  whose  life  had  been 
barren  of  all  good.  The  story  strengthens  the 
boy's  impression  that  the  prodigal  was  a  great 
fellow.  Shall  we  buy  the  sin-exploiting  stories 
for  the  Sunday  school? 

Then  there  is  the  story  of  the  impossibly  good 
boy   who   performs   impossible   things   under   im- 
possible circumstances.     The  ideal  is  to  be  com- 
mended, and  on  every  occasion 

The  Goody-  j^^j^     ^^^^^^     ^^^     scholar     for 

Goody.  ,  T^  1 

emulation.  But  the  preposter- 
ous in  the  story  serves  no  purpose  except  to  dis- 
gust or  possibly  discourage.  It  is  "real  folks" 
the  boy  or  girl  is  after,  and  either  is  quick  to 
see  the  difference  between  the  human  child  and 
the  automaton. 

No  matter  how  good  the  author,  no  story  should 

be   placed   on   the   shelves   until    the   librarian   or 

some  one  in  whose  judgment  he  has  confidence 

has    read    it    and    given    it   his 

Take  Nothing       endorsement.     It   is   unsafe  to 

for  Granted.  ,  ^   ■,       ,  •   n 

buy  a  set  of  books,  especially 
in  fiction,  simply  because  some  of  them  are  known 
to  be  excellent.  Few,  if  any,  people  have  written 
a   number  of  books   some  of  which  are  not   in 


Sunday  Schooi.  103 

some  particulars  away  below  the  author's  stand- 
ard. Especially  is  this  true  of  fiction  writers.  The 
complete  productions  of  an  author  may  some- 
times be  purchased  to  advantage,  but  more  fre- 
quently they  should  be  culled. 

In  biography  and  fiction,  and  as  far  as  may 
be  in  history,  there  should  be  an  adaptation  of 
the  books  chosen  to  the  ages  of  the  people  who 
are  to  read  them.  The  little  children  should  not 
be  overlooked,  and  their  needs  may  be  supplied 
from  a  separate  collection  of  books  of  a  juvenile 
character,  in  charge  of  an  assistant  librarian  or 
of  an  officer  of  the  Primary  Department,  The 
library  is  more  highly  appreciated  by  the  very 
little  folks  than  by  anybody  else. 

A  class  of  books  needed,  the  inquiry  for  which 
will  probably  to  quite  an  extent  have  to  be  cul- 
tivated, are  those  of  a  strictly  religious  character. 
It  should  be  a  special  work  of 

the    librarian    to    bring    these         Rf"gio"s 

,  .  .  Literature- 

books  mto  notice  from  time  to 

time  in  a  special  way.  Some  of  these  are  of  a 
purely  sentimental  character,  some  treat  of  ways 
of  working  in  the  church  and  the  Sunday  school, 
and  some  are  full  of  practical  suggestions  as  to 
Christian  living.  This  is  of  course  the  very  best 
part  of  the  library,  just  as  it  is  usually  the  part 
least  in  demand.  It  is  possible  to  make  it  highly 
useful. 

In  these  days  of  awakening  in  Sunday  school 
interests  the  best  libraries  will  soon  contain  read- 
ing courses  for  teachers,  intended  to  indoctrinate 
them    more    fully    in    the    many    things     which 


I04  Thk  Organized 

may  be  learned  from  the  printed  page  respect- 
ing their  work.  The  occasional  book  now  on  the 
shelves  telling  of  these  things, 

Teachers'  Read-    ^^  meritorious  as  it  may  be,  is 

ing  Course. 

only  the  entering  wedge.  There 
must  be  fixed  courses  of  reading  leading  by  easy 
steps  from  the  rudimentary  to  the  most  complete 
light  yet  thrown  on  this  branch  of  pedagogy. 
Some  of  the  denominations  are  already  wisely 
moving  in  this  matter. 


Sunday  Schooi,  105 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    LIBRARIAN. 

First  among  the  mistakes  commonly  character- 
istic  of  library   management   is   the   choice   of   a 
librarian.     The  church  authorities  will  again  and 
again   go   over   the   ground   of 
availability   in    selecting   a    su-       A  Thoughtless 

.,,  ,  Selection, 

perintendent,  and  will  perhaps 

look  carefully  after  the  make-up  of  the  remainder 
of  the  corps  of  officers,  until  the  librarian  is 
reached.  At  this  point  they  begin  to  look  for 
some  young  fellow  to  be  pleased  by  being  given 
office,  and  will  make  him  librarian  with  nothing 
else  in  view  than  his  personal  gratification  in 
this  particular.  In  a  great  majority  of  cases  his 
knowledge  of  books  and  ability  tO'  discriminate 
among  them  are  not  considered  in  the  selection. 
He  can  read  the  title,  he  can  hand  the  book 
through  the  window,  he  can  properly  credit  the 
borrower  on  its  return ;  he  will  perhaps  keep 
the  books  in  neat  and  orderly  condition,  and  will 
be  faithfully  on  hand  to  do  these  things.  He 
can  do  no  more,  and  is  expected  to  do  no  more. 
A  library  in  such  hands  never  is  and  essen- 
tially cannot  be  attractive.  The  applicant  for  a 
book  seeks  in  vain  for  facts  concerning  it.     The 


io6  The  Organized 

effort  to  find  a  book  suited  to  a  special  purpose 
is  futile.  The  inquiry  as  to  new  books  available 
in  the  market  could  as  well  be  made  of  the  jani- 
tor. There  is  no  comprehensive  knowledge  or 
trained  judgment  to  appeal  to  in  any  case.  Those 
who  want  to  know  anything  of  consequence  about 
books  or  reading  can  reach  no  available  source 
of  information. 

A  library  so  managed  commands  no  respect. 
In  a  very  short  time  it  ceases  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  the  bright  young  people,  some  of 
whom  are  found  in  every  school,  who  desire  to 
make  a  discriminating  use  of  literature.  One  by 
one  everybody  else  comes  to  regard  it  in  the 
same  way. 

A  library  so  managed  is  dangerous.    The  libra- 
rian  should  be  sufficiently  well   informed  to  see 
that    only   such    books    as   are   in    harmony    with 
the    ends    of    Sunday    school 
Serious  Mis-         training    are    admitted    to    the 
management. 

shelves,  and  should  be  able  to 

discriminate  even  among  these  in  selecting  read- 
ing matter  for  those  who  apply.  A  book  which 
may  prove  helpful  to  one  individual  may  be  whol- 
ly unsuited  to  the  wants  of  another,  or  may  even 
injure. 

The  librarian   should   know.     If  it   is  true  in 
any  sense,  as  some  one  has  said,  that  the  super- 
intendent is  the  Sunday  school, 
Knowledge  j^^  ^^  'equally  broad  sense  the 

Necessary.  ,.,  .  .  .         ...  . 

librarian  is  the  library,  A 
librarian  without  a  knowledge  of  books  is  as 
much   out   of   place    as   an   engineer   who   knows 


Sunday  Schooi.  107 

nothing  of  steam.  He  is  a  misfit  absolute.  The 
librarian  should  know  authors,  should  know  the 
special  works  of  authors,  should  know  the  good 
story  from  the  bad,  the  enlightening  comment 
from  the  discrediting  criticism,  the  wholesome 
from  the  unwholesome  in  everything  connected 
with  the  library  make-up. 

The  librarian  should  be  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  discriminating  men  or  women  in 
the  Sunday  school.  A  strong  library  committee 
will    not   make  good   the   lack 

of  a  strong  librarian  any  more      ^^    °^^t     ^  ^ 
°  -^  Officer  Needed. 

than  a  good  corps  of  teachers 
will  atone  for  weakness  in  the  superintendent. 
There  must  be  a  responsible  head  to  the  library. 
This  head  should  be  secured  by  the  most  pains- 
taking investigation,  and  when  secured  should  be 
held  as  long  as  available — for  no  officer  is  harder 
to  replace  than  the  good  librarian. 

Of  course  such  an  officer  may  be  hard  to  find. 
If  just  such  an  one  as  is  desired  cannot  be  se- 
cured, let  the  very  best  possible  approximation 
be  substituted.  In  no  case  let  the  librarian  be  a 
makeshift,  and  in  no  case  fill  the  position  with 
a  figurehead.  An  important  branch  of  Sunday 
school  teaching  is  involved,  and  fooling  with  the 
minds  of  the  children  through  a  thoughtless  dis- 
tribution of  ill-selected  books  is  a  reckless  play- 
ing with  fire. 

The  librarian,  like  every  officer  or  teacher  who 
amounts  to  anything  in  Sunday  school  service, 
must  familiarize  him.self  with  the  idea  of  a  con- 
siderable measure   of  personal    sacrifice  of  com- 


io8  Thk  Organized 

fort  or  inclination.  It  is  hard  work  to  conscien- 
tiously serve  a  Sunday  school  as  censor,  guide 
and  caterer  in  its  reading  matter ;  it  is  hard  to 
devote  to  this  service  the  long  hours  through  the 
week  which  the  proper  discharge  of  these  duties 
demands ;  and  it  is  hard  to  be  at  the  library  win- 
dow or  counter  early  every  Sunday  morning  to 
advise  with  the  inquiring  and  give  direction  to 
the  thoughtless.  But  there  is  Matt.  25  :  40  in  it, 
and  that  is  enough. 

Of  course  the  librarian  himself  should  be  with 
the  library  when  in  use.  He  may  and  should 
have   some  one  to  aid  him,  though,   whose   duty 

would   naturally   be   to   charge 
TheLibrarian         ^^^^^      ^^^^^      ^^^      ^^      ^^^^j^ 

on  Duty.  ,       ,  ,  ,     .         ,       , 

books  returned,  to  bnng  books 

needed,  etc.  But  the  librarian  right  there  to 
answer  questions,  and  assist  in  selections,  and 
make  suggestions,  and  quietly  give  direction  to 
the  uncertain,  is  in  his  position  of  greatest  use- 
fulness. If  indispensable  anywhere  it  is  when 
he  mediates  between  the  applicant  and  the 
library. 

The  librarian  can  very  materially  promote  the 

dissemination  and  appreciation  of  desirable  books 

by  once  in  a  while  speaking  of  them  for  a  few 

minutes    on    the    floor    of    the 

Before  the  gchool.     The  reading  of  a  few 

School.  .    ,  rr  •  ,1 

titles  affecting  current  lessons, 
a  brief  synopsis  of  a  new  book,  or  a  refreshing 
memory  about  an  old  one,  will  keep  the  library 
prominently  before  the  school,  where  it  is  some- 
times   practically    forgotten.      An    earnest    officer 


Sunday  SchooIv  109 

will  think  of  many  ways  in  which  this  object  may 
be  promoted. 

A    small    blackboard     (made    of    black    rolling 
cloth)    may  be  used  to  advantage  in  bulletining 
new  books  as  they  are  added  to  the  library,  or 
in   placing   prominently   before 
the  school  the  names  of  books        l^l  ^'^'^'^ 

Bulletin. 

especially     adapted     to     lesson 

study  with  a  given  series  of  lessons  in  view.    An 

alert  librarian  can  make  such  a  blackboard  very 

helpful. 

The  librarian  should  be  assisted  by  a  com- 
petent library  committee  of  which  he  is  ex  officio 
chairman.  Meetings  of  this  committee  at  fixed 
times  for  the  discussion  of  library  interests  are 
necessarily  productive  of  good.  Any  feature  of 
Sunday  school  work  thus  treated  is  the  better 
of  the  treatment.  The  library  is  especially  sus- 
ceptible to  improvement  in  this  way.  The  super- 
intendent should  be  a  member  of  this  committee. 


no  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    HOME   DEPARTMENT. 

The  Home   Department  may  be   a  very  good 

thing   or    it    may   be    a    very    bad   thing    for   the 

church  and  the  Sunday  school  with  which  it  is 

connected.      It    is    good    when 

^  ^°l^7iu-^'     it  is  made  to  serve  its  legiti- 

or  a  Bad  Thing.  ° 

mate     purpose;     when     it     is 
confined   to  its  proper   membership;   when   it  is 
well    managed.     It   is   bad   when   it   is   made  to 
stand  for  too  much ;   when  it  is  substituted  un- 
necessarily for  the  active  Sunday  school ;   when 
it  is  poorly  managed,  or  is  not  managed  at  all. 
Too   much    has    been    expected    of    the    Home 
Department.      In    many    places    it    has    been    set 
up  as  practically  a  separate  and  distinct  institu- 
tion   in    itself,    its    essentially 
is°Ex  ected  supplementary    character    hav- 

ing been  overlooked.  It  is 
sometimes  forgotten  that  it  is  intended  solely 
for  the  benefit  of  a  class  of  people  for  whom 
nothing  better  can  be  provided — and  it  is  not 
remembered  that  for  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
church  there  is  something  decidedly  better. 
The  home-staying  idea  is  altogether  too  prev- 
alent  in  the   church   without  the  placing  of  any 


Sunday  Schooi,  hi 

emphasis  upon  that  idea;  and,  as  conducted,  the 
Home  Department  very  often  furnishes  just  this 
deplorable  emphasis. 

For  whom  is  the  Home  Department  intended? 
First,  for  the  shut-ins:     For  confirmed  or  tem- 
porary invalids;   for  such  of  the  aged  as  from 
helplessness      or      unfortunate 
location   are   unable   to   attend      "^^f  ^^°p^® 

.  to  be  Reached. 

the  public  services  of  the 
church;  for  over-burdened  mothers.  This  must 
not  be  taken  as  a  sweeping  classification,  for 
many  of  the  best  members  of  our  active  Sunday 
schools  are  invalids;  many  a  sweet  aged  face 
is  the  inspiration  of  the  school  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing;   and    busy    mothers    are, 

as  much  as  any  other  class  of  °^^^       ° 

11  1  ,       ,.^         -        Are  Shut  m. 

church  people  are,  the  life  of 
the  Sunday  school.  The  physical  disability  of 
the  invalid  and  the  aged  must  be  positive,  and 
the  "over-burdening"  of  mothers  must  be  abso- 
lute, if  any  of  these  are  really  classable  as  prop- 
erly within  the  province  of  the  Home  Depart- 
ment. 

Then    there    are    the    shut-outs.      These    are 
chiefly  made  up  of  those  who  are  employed  by 
other  people  for  work  on  Sunday,  and  who  for 
this   reason  are  unable  to  at- 
tend   Sunday    school.     I    have      ^     g^^      _^^ 
neither  the  space  nor  the  in- 
clination to  discuss  the  question  whether  any  one 
is   ever  justifiable   in   engaging   in   such   employ- 
ments.     Each   must    settle   this    matter    with    his 
own    conscience.       I    have    known    cases    where 


112  Thk  Organized 

such  employment  seemed  almost  unavoidable, 
though  it  is  certainly  more  often  unnecessary. 
Another  class  are  physicians,  and  a  kindred 
class  are  trained  nurses.  Still  others  are  those 
who  are  so  located  geographically  that  walking 
to  Sunday  school  is  impracticable,  and  who  are 
unable  to  avail  themselves  of  any  kind  of  con- 
veyance. Commercial  travelers,  and  others  whose 
employment  necessitates  their  being  away  from 
home  many  Sundays  in  the  year,  must  also  be 
numbered  with  the  shut-outs. 

The  relations  of  the  shut-outs  to  the  Home 
Department  must  be  qualified,  just  as  that  of 
the  shut-ins  has  been ;  that  is,  these  people  may 

properly  belong  to  the  Home 
Shut^-out's.'''''         Department     if.      Among    the 

first  mentioned  shut-outs  street 
car  employees  are  prominent,  and  yet  one  of  the 
most  earnest  members  of  the  active  Sunday 
school  whom  I  know  is  a  street  car  conductor. 
Nearly  every  reader  can  recall  busy  physicians 
whose  place  in  the  Sunday  school  is  often  and 
in  some  cases  usually  occupied.  I  have  known 
trained  nurses  who  managed  to  be  in  their 
classes  or  in  charge  of  their  classes  nearly  every 
Sunday.  I  recall  a  commercial  traveler,  doing  an 
extensive  business,  who  is  among  the  most  faith- 
ful of  Sunday  school  ofificers.  Nearly  every  good 
school  has  instances,  too,  in  which  the  geograph- 
ically unfortunate  are  regularly  in  their  places. 

As  an  obstacle  remover  a  desire  to  attend 
Sunday  school  is  wonderfully  potent.  An  earnest 
campaign  to  create  that  desire  all  over  the  com- 


Sunday  Schooi.  113 

munity  should  precede  the  organization  of  a 
Home  Department  in  all  cases,  and  in  building 
up  that  department  active  membership  in  the 
Sunday  school  should  first  be 

,  ,  1  ,•  -.,  A  Potent  Ob- 

sought,    and    connection     with  ,     „ 

°  .  stacle  Remover. 

the  Home  Department  msisted 

upon  only  as  a  necessary  alternative.     Both  the 

shut-ins  and  the  shut-outs  are  always  decimated 

in  a  marked  degree  where  this  kind  of  work  is 

well  done. 

To  all  of  those  who  are  thus  positively  shut  in 

or    positively    shut    out    the    Home    Department 

should   come   as   a   blessing.     It   cannot   have   a 

similar     value,     however,     for 

anybody  else.     To  the  classes      ^  Blessing  or 

Otherwise, 
of    church    people,    or    people 

within  the  reach  of  church  influence,  not  already 
enumerated,  it  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that 
the  Home  Department  can  bear  the  same  bene- 
ficial relation.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious. 
People  in  average  physical  condition,  whose  com- 
ings and  goings  are  under  their  own  control,  will 
rarely  if  ever  do  good  Sunday  school  work  of 
any  kind  outside  of  the  active  Sunday  school. 
Poor  lesson  work  is  almost  invariably  done  by 
people  who  ought  to  be  and  can  be  in  the  Sun- 
day school,  but  who  voluntarily  stay  out.  If 
willing  to  work,  they  are  ready  to  do  so  in  the 
regular  way.  The  Home  Department  which 
presses  these  people  into  its  ranks  instead  of  into 
the  active  Sunday  school  (with  the  Home  De- 
partment sometimes  as  a  possible  doorway)  is 
simply  affording  a  place  behind  which  the  shirk- 


114  The  Organized 

ing  element  in  the  church  may  hide.    Under  these 

conditions  it  is  providing  an  excuse  to  the  lazy. 

"O,   I  belong  to  the  Home  Department,"  is   an 

easily  erected  barrier  between 

t-^^*«^/°^         the   lazy   church    member    and 
Hide-Behinds.  ,    .        / 

plam  duty.     A  relatively  large 

Home  Department  means  a  church  with  a  poor 

Sunday    school    spirit,    and    is    a    bad    indication 

for  a  church. 

In    the    too    prevalent    misconception    of    the 

province    of   the    Home    Department    it    is    thus 

made  an  institution,  instead  of  an  annex  to  an 

institution.     It  is  made  an  un- 

An  Annex,  not  ■>     j^-^    ^         r 

.    ^.^   '  necessary     substitute     for     in- 

an  Institution.  -' 

stead  of  a  needed  adjunct  to 
the  Sunday  school.  It  is  too  generally  employed 
to  secure  results  in  itself  which  are  only  prac- 
ticable in  connection  with  the  active  Sunday 
school  itself,  in  touch  with  its  leadership,  and 
under  the  influence  of  its  esprit  de  corps. 

What  are  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  making 

the  Home  Department  useful  outside  of  the  lines 

within    which    I    have    insisted    that    its    special 

work  should  be  confined?     Its 

Home  Depart-       ^^^^  striking  weakness  lies  in 

ment  Weaknesses.  ,.„      , 

the    difficulty    of    keeping    up 

lesson  work — and  without  lesson  work  the  Home 
Department  means  little  or  nothing.  It  is  almost 
wholly  lacking  in  the  vitalizing  touch  which  is 
so  potent  an  influence  in  the  Sunday  school. 
It  has  nothing  except  the  occasional  presence  of 
the  visitor  to  stimulate  interest  from  the  stand- 
point of  personality.     It  lacks  class  companion- 


Sunday  SchooIv  115 

ship,  and  the  stimulus  of  the  living,  present 
teacher.  It  is  without  hour  or  fixed  time,  and 
if  lesson  study  is  slight  or  omitted,  there  is 
nothing  to  even  partially  make  good  the  omis- 
sion. Its  work  is  done  in  an  isolated  way  and 
at  long  range,  which  in  Sunday  school  affairs 
is  usually  unsuccessful.  It  never  reaches  the 
careless  or  thoughtless,  to  whom  lessons  received 
are  always  incidental,  and  to  whom  they  must 
come  largely  from  environment.  In  fact  and  in 
short,  one  must  be  an  unusually  high  type  of 
Christian,  or  an  unusually  earnest  inquirer  after 
truth,  to  maintain  any  special  interest  in  Home 
Department   study. 

What  has  been  said  is  not  meant  to  detract 
in  any  way  from  the  credit  due  the  Home  De- 
partment as  an  agency  for  good,  or  to  minimize 
the  possibilities   of  its   useful- 

T,  ,,  .  A  Great  Good, 

ness.         It       argues       nothmg       .^        ^.    , 

'^  '^        Nevertheless. 

against  the  Home  Department 
confined  to  its  proper  field.  It  is  a  good  thing, 
and  very  useful,  as  the  only  Sunday  school  re- 
source of  such  people  as  are  wholly  unable  to 
attend  the  Sunday  school.  Its  proper  work  is 
a  great  work,  but  it  consists  in  taking  care  of 
those  who  must  be  at  home,  and  heartily  dis- 
couraging any  more  staying  there. 

What  are  some  of  the  good  things  which 
cannot  well  be  secured  through  any  other  agency 
than  the  Home  Department?  It  brings  the  Sun- 
day school  lesson  to  people  who  want  it,  but 
who  would  otherwise  be  unable  to  get  it.  It 
helps    people    to    whom    even    this    slight    touch 


ii6  The  Organized 

with    active    church    work    may    mean    a    great 
deal.    With  good  visitors,  careless  and  indifferent 
people  may  sometimes  be  touched  for  their  spir- 
itual   betterment.      It    insures 
Strong  Points       ^^^  shut-offs  of  all  kinds  that 

Enumerated. 

they  are  not  forgotten,  but  are 
an  appreciated  part  of  the  church  whole.  The 
shut-in  mother  often  takes  care  of  the  regularity 
and  promptness  of  children  in  the  Sunday  school 
itself.  Well  managed,  it  ought  to  be  a  substan- 
tial and  regular  feeder  of  the  active  Sunday 
school.  Those  who  do  even  fairly  good  work 
in  the  Home  Department  want  a  more  positive 
good,  and  I  have  seen  it  thus  materially  recruit 
the  regular  school.  Many  other  ways  in  which 
good  grows  directly  or  incidentally  out  of  the 
Home   Department  might  be  mentioned. 

How    may    the    Home    Department    be    made 
effective  and  useful?     It  should  be  a  regular  de- 
partment of  the  Sunday  school,  provided  for  fully 
and    completely.      The    Home 
How  to  Make      department     superintendent 

it  Effective.  ^  . 

should  be  an  assistant  super- 
intendent, and  subordinate  to  the  general  school 
management.  The  work  of  the  department  should 
have  regular  official  attention  from  the  full  board 
of  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers.  The 
superintendent  and  visitors  should  be  chosen 
with  care,  and  should  carry  into  the  discharge 
of  their  duties  the  spirit  characteristic  of  the 
earnest  Sunday  school  worker  everywhere.  The 
plans  and  purposes,  in  their  formation  and  ex- 
ecution, must  be  marked  by  good  judgment  and 


Sunday  SchooIv  117 

regular  system.  Thus  conceived,  planned  and 
conducted,  it  should  be  of  great  value'  to  the 
church  community. 

The  officers  of  the  efficient  Home  Department 
have  hard  work  before  them.  It  is  harder  to 
keep  work  of  this  kind  in  proper  shape  and  well 
in    hand    than    to    look    after 

,,  1  •     J  r       t,        u         Some  Onerous 

many    other    kmds    of    church       ^  ^.      ... 
^  Duties  Ahead. 

activities.  The  usefulness  of 
the  department  depends  largely  upon  the  per- 
sonal character,  regularity  and  devotion  of  the 
visitors.  The  visitors  are  the  vitalizing  element 
of  the  entire  undertaking.  They  are  the  connect- 
ing link  with  the  church.  They  are  the  special 
messengers  of  the  church  body,  of  the  pastor  and 
of  the  Sunday  school  superintendent.  The  use- 
fulness of  active  Home  Department  visitors  can 
hardly  be  measured.  The  dead  Home  Depart- 
ment usually  means  dead  and  perfunctory  visit- 
ing. 

Without  discussing  in  detail  the  very  simple 
plans  on  which  the  Home  Department  is  to  be 
conducted,   and   which   are   fully  outlined   in   the 

special    literature    which    is    a 

r    ^1        TT  Regular  Meetings 

necessary    part    of    the    Home       «, 

•'     ^  Necessary. 

Department  outfit,  I  desire  to 
make  a  special  suggestion  which  I  believe  will 
be  found  most  helpful.  The  members  of  the 
Home  Department  should  be  brought  together  at 
stated  intervals  for  a  meeting  of  their  own  and 
devoted  wholly  to  their  particular  affairs.  Such 
a  meeting  may  be  held  quarterly  or  semi-annually, 
and  will  prove  to  be  an  occasion  which  will  be 


ii8  Th^  Organized 

looked  forward  to  with  much  interest.  Such  a 
meeting,  regularly  held,  will  be  a  bond  of  union. 
It  will  form  a  visible  and  realizable  connection 
between  all  the  component  parts  of  the  depart- 
ment. Incidentally,  too,  it  will  give  force  and 
significance  to  the  movement  in  the  community. 
It  may  not  always  seem  feasible  to  hold  such 
meetings,  but  the  end  aimed  at  will  justify  untir- 
ing effort  in  removing  whatever  may  be  in  the 
way. 

The  need  of  active  social  connection  is  felt  in 
all  branches  of  church  work.     Every  considera- 
tion affecting  this  need  is  emphasized  when  ap- 
plied to  the  Home  Department 
Restoring  Old       ^^  ^^^  Sunday  school.    To  the 

Connections.  .  •    ,,  ,  •   i 

shut-ms  especially  do  social 
possibilities  appeal  with  peculiar  force.  Convince 
this  splendid  element  in  all  our  churches  that  the 
Home  Department  means  the  renewal  of  active 
brotherhood  and  sisterhood  with  the  people  with 
whom  many  of  the  confined  or  suffering  have 
once  been  in  close  touch,  and  you  have  won  their 
allegiance  beyond  all  peradventure.  Besides,  in 
doing  this  you  have  in  a  measure  restored  to  at 
least  partial  activity  in  the  church  a  quota  of  its 
very  choicest  members.  All  this  good  may  be 
effectually  promoted  by  establishing  and  main- 
taining the  regular  Home  Department  meetings 
to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

Do  not  let  your  Home  Department  and  its 
management  be  a  matter  of  impulse.  Do  not 
be  in  a  hurry  to  achieve  great  results.  This  is 
a    case    in    which    seemingly    great    results    often 


Sunday  Schooi.  iig 

mean   unfortunate  results.     The  natural  propor- 
tion of  a  church  community  to  be  ministered  to 
in  this  way  is  relatively  small. 
The   aim    should   be   to   make      '^^^^  ^.^ 

...  to  be  Right, 

this     mmistry     thorough     and 

helpful,   rather  than  to   impart  to  it  any  quality 

of  a  more  evanescent  and  showy  character,  as  has 

so  often  been  done  in  ill-considered  efforts  in  this 

special  line. 


120  The  Organized 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ABOUT    THE    COUNTRY     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Those  who  write  on  Sunday  school  topics  are 

met  on  every  hand  with  a  remark  of  this  kind: 

"The    good    things    which    you    recommend    are 

all    right   for   the   city   school, 

Not   Feasible       ^^^    ^^^    ^^^    feasible    in    the 

m  the  Country.  .       m       -rt,        -j  •       ^i, 

country.  Ihe  idea  is  thus 
advanced  that  the  country  Sunday  school  is 
handicapped  all  around  for  a  high  class  of  work 
and  corresponding  results.  Is  this  assumption 
well  grounded? 

Let  us  look  into  the  special  disadvantages  en- 
countered   in    rural    and    village    Sunday    school 
work.      Prominent   among   these    is   a   less    con- 
venient     style     of     buildings. 
The  Modern         ^j^^    modern     Sunday    school 

Building. 

room,  from  which  class  rooms 
are  shut  off  during  recitation,  is  rarely  found 
outside  of  the  city.  It  is  equally  true,  though, 
that  such  rooms  are  not  usually  found  in  the 
city.  The  country  Sunday  school  suffers  in  this 
particular,  then,  only  in  comparison  with  the 
higher  type  of  city  schools,  and  not  in  com- 
parison with  city  schools  in  general.  Leaving 
out    of    consideration    this    minority    of   the    city 


Sunday  Schooi,  121 

schools,   Sunday  schools   everywhere  are  located 
in  quarters  of  very   similar  general   form. 

A  much  more  serious  problem  with  the  coun- 
try Sunday  school  is  its  greater  difficulty  of  ac- 
cess.    Muddy  roads  in  winter  and  early  spring; 
tired    horses    in    summer ;    the 
necessity  of  the  greater  part  of       ^i^^^^^ty  °f 
the    membership,    or    at    least 
a    great    part    of    it,    walking    at    all    times    and 
long  distances ;   snow,   rain  and  flood  in   season, 
emphasized  by  every  attendant  condition  in  their 
obstructiveness ;  all  of  these  are  especially  in  the 
way.     Such  combinations  magnify  the  difficulties 
of  visitation,  too,  which  is  so  important  a  phase 
of    Sunday   school   activity.     The    same   troubles 
also  largely  interfere  with  the  teachers'  meeting. 

These  various  interferences  culminate  in  the 
winter  season,  and  in  many  places  an  entire  sus- 
pension of  Sunday  school  work  for  several  of 
the    inclement    months    is    the 

Urj^,  .  .  "Winter  and  Sum- 

.     This  suspension  some- 

mer  Suspension. 

times  seems  to  be  necessary, 
but  could  frequently  be  avoided  were  officers  and 
teachers  more  determined  in  the  discharge  of 
duty.  On  the  other  hand,  city  Sunday  schools 
are  cut  to  pieces  by  absenteeism  during  the  hot 
months.  I  have  an  instance  in  mind  in  which 
more  than  half  of  the  membership  of  a  city  school 
is  away  from  home  in  July  and  August.  An 
occasional  city  school  wholly  suspends  in  these 
months,  although  such  suspensions  are  compara- 
tively rare,  and  should  never  occur.  There  are 
not  many  Sunday  schools  other  than  "evergreen" 


122  Thk  Organized 

except  in  the  country,  although  many  city  schools 
are  kept  in  line  through  the  vacation  sea- 
son only  under  very  depressing  conditions.  It 
is  a  very  serious  situation  indeed  which  really 
justifies  any  suspension  in  either  place. 

It  is  often  urged  by  those  making  these  com- 
parisons that  the  country  school  is  less  able  to 
meet  the  financial  requirements  of  Sunday  school 
equipment  than  the  city  school. 

nancial  Needs.  ^  ,  .  ,  .  , 

the  comparison  is  made  with 
the  small  minority  of  city  schools  before  men- 
tioned. It  has  little  or  no  significance,  though, 
when  the  great  body  of  city  schools  is  considered. 
In  a  large  proportion  of  these  latter  schools  there 
is  a  measure  of  poverty  never  known  in  the  coun- 
try. Many  city  schools  are  purely  missionary 
in  character,  with  no  church  organizations  back 
of  them,  and  with  no  revenue  whatever  except 
that  furnished  by  the  people  of  slender  incomes 
to  whose  personal  devotion  the  very  existence  of 
the  schools  is  due.  From  the  standpoint  of  finan- 
cial ability  the  country  schools  will  average  with, 
if  not  above,  all  others,  omitting  a  small  per 
cent  of  the  city  organizations.  The  proportion 
of  schools  easily  able  to  furnish  all  needed  equip- 
ment  is  perhaps  not  widely  different  in  the  city 
and  in  the  village  or  country.  Besides,  much  of 
the  equipment  of  the  very  wealthy  schools  is 
fanciful  rather  than  useful ;  and,  after  all,  the 
equipment  necessary  for  the  best  work  is  cheap, 
simple,  easily  procurable,  and  is  made  almost 
everywhere   feasible   bv   the   fact  that   it   can   be 


Sunday  Schooi.  123 

adapted  in  quantity  exactly  to  the  needs  of  the 
people  by  whom  it  is  to  be  used. 

The  rural  Sunday  school  suffers  in  this  com- 
parison in  the  lack  of  stimulus  afforded  by  sur- 
rounding things  of  a  stirring  character.  The 
natural  result  of  the  isolation 
of  rural  people  is  a  kind  of  ^ort^"^  ^j;f ^[,3. 
quiet  which  is  not  easily 
stirred  into  neighborhood  enthusiasm.  In  com- 
munities where  people  live  in  close  contiguity 
they  are  more  susceptible  to  influences  inducing 
them  to  act  together.  Opposite  conditions  in- 
terfere to  some  extent  with  the  coherence  and 
quick  responsiveness  in  country  Sunday  schools 
which  are  more  generally  characteristic  of  city 
movements.  This  is  much  more  of  a  drawback 
to  Sunday  school  effort  in  the  country  than  ap- 
pears on  the  surface. 

On  the  other  hand,  the   Sunday  school  in  the 
country  possesses   some  special   advantages   over 
any   similar  organization   located  in  a   center  of 
population.     A   country  neigh- 
borhood   can   be   more    readily       Special  Rural 

.  Advantages, 

mterested  as  a  body  m  Sun- 
day school  movements.  It  is  rarely  the  case 
that  a  rural  community  is  the  scene  of  a  multi- 
plication of  such  efforts,  while  the  city  worker 
is  usually  confronted  by  pronounced  competition 
at  nearly  every  step.  In  the  one  place  the  Sun- 
day school  can  be  made  a  leading  attraction, 
while  in  the  other  there  is  always  a  probability 
of  being  overshadowed  by  larger,  wealthier  and 
more  influential  schools.  The  rural  Sunday  school 


124  ^^^  Organized 

builder  comes  more  nearly  having  a  field  to  him- 
self than  any  one  else  engaged  in  similar  work. 
The  opportunity  of  getting   together   is   much 
more  appreciated  in  the  country  than  elsewhere. 
The  loneliness  of  the  week  is  broken  by  an  hour 
of  fellowship  which  is  looked 
The  Weekly         forward   to   with   pleasant   an- 
Gathering.  ...  ,    • ,.     ,  ,       ,   • 

ticipation ;  and  if  the  school  is 

made  what  it  should  be,  this  predilection  for 
assembling  may  be  made  a  great  power  for  good, 
for  which  there  is  at  best  only  a  weak  counter- 
part in  the  city. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  advantage  enjoyed  by  the 
country    Sunday   school    is   that  there   is   less   to 
distract    attention    than    in    any    other    location. 
There    are    a    dozen    counter- 
Attention  Less      attractions  in  the  city  on  Sun- 
Distracted.  .  1.11 

day  mornmg,  and  m  week-day 
Sunday  school  work,  to  every  one  found  else- 
where. In  the  city  influences  of  every  kind  must 
be  combatted  if  any  impression  is  to  be  made 
on  those  not  closely  identified  with  church  work. 
In  the  country  there  is  much  less  to  divert  atten- 
tion, and  attention  once  secured  is  unquestion- 
ably, and  for  the  same  reasons,  more  firmly  held. 
All  things  considered,  there  are  many  points 
of  practical  equality  in  the  two  classes  of  schools 
under  consideration.     In  a  general  measurement 

of  opportunity  the  city  school 
Very  Much  ^^^   perhaps   the   better   of   its 

Alike,  After  All.  ,  •    1  1  j  ,     xu* 

rural  neighbor;  and  yet  this 
difference  in  its  favor  is  more  apparent  than 
real.     There  are  much  greater  differences  in  the 


Sunday  Schooi.  125 

possibilities  of  different  classes  of  city  schools, 
or  in  different  classes  of  country  schools,  than 
between  city  schools  on  the  one  hand  and  country 
schools  on  the  other.  There  are  many  grounds 
for  the  classification  of  schools  which  are  more 
legitimate  and  more  significant  than  the  ranging 
of  them  in  the  t\vo  great  classes  indicated. 

Nothing    has    been    suggested    in    these    pages 
which  cannot  be  utilized  in  some  measure  by  any 
Sunday  school  anywhere.     Given  the  same  degree 
of    earnest    neighborhood    en- 
deavor,   and    the    same    high       .^  !.u^°^,^~ 

.  °  Not  the  Place, 

grade  of  mterest  m  the  exer- 
cises and  class  work,  and  satisfactory  results 
will  follow,  let  the  school  be  located  where  it 
may,  and  let  its  size  be  anything  within  the  range 
of  possibility.  In  any  case,  under  any  circum- 
stances, the  outcome  depends  on  the  people  who 
make  up  the  organization  and  the  degree  of  their 
determination  and  consecration.  Other  condi- 
tions are  secondary,  and  although  they  may  af- 
fect the  volume  of  results  they  will  have  little 
to  do  with  the  fact  of  results  or  with  their 
character. 

Rural  Sunday  school  worker,  allow  a  country- 
bred  fellow  worker  to  assure  you  that  the  best 
Sunday  schools  of  our  day  are  not  great  because 

of  their  location,  but  because 

1         1  J        'What  Lies 

earnest     people     have     spared       Back  of  it  All. 
nothing  in  effort  to  make  them 
what  they  should  be.     There  are  no  model  Sun- 
day schools   which   owe  their  high   character  to 
accidental  conditions.     The  same  kind  of  conse- 


126  Thk  Organized 

crated,  unremitting,  year-in-and-year-out  effort 
anywhere  will  bring  some  measure  of  the  same 
outcome.  The  uncertain  prospects  of  any  repre- 
sentative school,  in  city  or  country,  are  usually 
the  result  of  a  general  indisposition  to  make 
special  effort  unless  all  conditions  are  strikingly 
favorable,  rather  than  chargeable  to  anything  else. 
The  sons  of  Anak  are  always  of  forbidding  size 
when  we  are  not  full  of  the  purpose  to  go  up 
and  possess  the  land  in  spite  of  opposition, 
whether  the  land  be  a  few  city  blocks  or  a  rural 
neighborhood. 


Sunday  Schooi.  127 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

AND  FINALLY. 

Before  closing  this  little  book,  fellow  Sunday 
school  officer,  let  us  look  our  surroundings 
squarely  in  the  face.  Those  who  enter  upon 
work  of  any  kind  in  which  they  are  at  all  in- 
terested understand  that  success  is  likely  to  come 
out  of  it  only  when  something  substantial  has 
been  put  into  it.  To  some  things  this  particular 
thing  must  be  given ;  to  something  else,  that ;  but 
the  conditions  of  successful  Sunday  school  work 
can  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  the  abso- 
lute giving  of  one's  self.  Efficient  Sunday  school 
service  cannot  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  or  under 
any  circumstances,  be  a  half-way  service.  Half- 
heartedness  and  efficiency  are  thoroughly  incom- 
patible. 

It  is  not  enough  that  we  give  barely  that  which 
we  can  conveniently  spare.  We  must  go  farther, 
and  give  of  our  best.  Personal  sacrifice  is  the 
price  of  personal  efficiency.  We  most  thoroughly 
devote  ourselves  to  that  which  we  love  most,  and 
we  love  that  most  for  which  we  have  given  up 
most.  This  is  a  Medo-Persian  law  of  human 
nature.  We  have  no  right  to  expect  God's  bless- 
ing on  our  gift  to  him  of  that   which   in  itself 


128  The  Organized  S.  S. 

is  valueless  or  for  which  we  have  no  special  use; 
but  it  is  when  we  lay  on  the  altar  the  very  best 
we  have,  in  effort  or  in  anything  else  we  place 
at  his  disposal,  that  the  showers  of  blessing  may 
be  expected  to  be  never-failing. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  strict  accounting 
against  the  requirements  of  Sunday  school  activ- 
ity. The  demand  comes  up  here,  there,  every- 
where. The  sacrifice,  petty  or  great,  may  take 
almost  any  form,  and  may  be  required  at  almost 
any  time ; — the  only  thing  we  surely  know  about 
it  is  that  when  it  is  called  for  it  must  be  made. 
May  the  test  never  come  without  finding  us  ready ! 


